ED arrests chief engineer Virendra Kumar Ram, gets 5-day remand

RANCHI: The special PMLA court on Thursday granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) five-day remand of chief engineer (CE), rural development special division, Virendra Kumar Ram, for questioning regarding the recovery of huge amount of assets during raids conducted on premises related to him and others. ED arrested Ram late on Wednesday night during questioning.
The ED had conducted raids at around 30 places across the country on Tuesday and Wednesday and recovered around Rs 30 lakh, jewelleries worth Rs 1.5 crore, eight vehicles, large amount of assets and several incriminating documents.
He underwent a medical check-up at the district hospital and was subsequently produced before the court in the afternoon.
The special prosecutor, ED, Shiv Kumar pleaded for a 10-day remand saying that a vast amount of wealth related to Ram has been unearthed during the raids.
He added that more time was required for questioning Ram regarding the recoveries.
The defendant counsel, Vikrant Sinha, said, "We opposed the ED plea on the ground that Ram was suffering from various ailments. He is suffering from blood related problem for which he is undergoing treatment. The doctors would review his ailments after four months. The court has granted five-day custody of Ram with the condition that he would undergo medical examination every 24 hours. He will also be allowed to meet his counsel for half an hour every day."
Ram was sent to the Birsa Munda Central Jail under judicial custody for the night. His remand period would begin from Friday.
It may be stated here that the ED is investigating money laundering aspect of the case related to the seizure of Rs 2.82 crore by the Anti-corruption Bureau from the house of a junior engineer in Jamshedpur in November 2019.