ED deputy director Niranjan Singh charge-sheeted on retirement day

JALANDHAR: Enforcement Directorate deputy director Niranjan Singh, who probed a few high profile cases including the Bhola drug racket case, was served an ‘article of charge’ (a charge-sheet limited to service matters) by his department on Monday, the day of his retirement from service.
For the last several years, Niranjan had been tracking the money trail in one of Punjab’s biggest drug haul cases.
He had questioned senior Punjab politicians, including Bikram Singh Majithia and Swaran Singh Phillaur, who were cabinet ministers in the previous SAD-BJP government, as part of the infamous Bhola drug racket.
The ED on Monday charged the officer for failing to maintain integrity and misusing his position by inviting Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh to his daughter’s 2016 wedding and paying just Rs 2 lakh, much below than his average professional payments. Singh had at the time been probing a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case against Dosanjh.
ED was probing Niranjan for ‘probe lapses’
“By his aforesaid act, Niranjan Singh the then assistant director, directorate of enforcement, Jalandhar failed to maintain absolute integrity, misused his position exhibited conduct unbecoming of a government contravened the provisions of rules of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964,” according to the ‘statement of article of charge’ against Niranjan. Confirming to TOI that he has been served the notice, Niranjan said that he would reply to it. Niranjan said he was served the notice by the department and after inquiry, he would reply to it. “It is not a charge-sheet but a notice for inquiry,” he said.
“The ED started inquiring in 2016 and the payment (to Dosanjh) was from my account. They asked me about it and I had told that the inquiry involving Dosanjh had already been transferred to another officer a year before the marriage and they did not have anything against me in this much time,” he said.