ED Raids 7 Places in Patna and Kept Counting Cash for 8 Hours Using 4 Machines!

Moneylife Digital Team 31 March 2025

Economy & Nation

The Patna zonal office of the directorate of enforcement (ED) conducted search operations at seven locations across Patna on 27 March 2025 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. During the search operations, cash amounting to around Rs11.64 crore was seized along with other incriminating documents.

ED has been investigating a case against Sanjeev Hans, an officer from the 1997 batch of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) and others and uncovered irregularities in the tendering process within some government departments in Bihar. The agency accused Mr Hans of 'earning illicit money by indulging in corrupt practices' from 2018 to 2023 during his tenure in Bihar and while on deputation in the Union government.

According to a report from CNBCTV18, when ED officers descended on the residence of Tarini Das, the chief engineer of the building construction department (BCD), they stumbled upon a stash so enormous that it took four counting machines and eight long hours to even begin tallying it all.

"Upon entering the bungalow, they (ED officials) were reportedly taken aback by the sheer volume of currency stacked inside multiple rooms. The raid also extended to the residence of Mr Das, further deepening the investigation. Authorities suspect that several officials and contractors involved in government tenders may be implicated," the report says.

ED says its investigation under PMLA in the case of Mr Hans and others revealed the names of Mr Das, Mumukshu Chaudhary (joint secretary, finance department, government of Bihar), Umesh Kumar Singh (executive engineer, urban development and housing department (UDHD)), Ayaz Ahmed, (deputy project director, Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (BUIDCO)), Sagar Jaiswal (DGM (Projects), Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (BMSICL)), Vikash Jha (DGM, BMSICL) and Saket Kumar (executive engineer, BCD). These people are recipients of bribe money to give favourable outcomes in several tenders as well as clearance of bills of various contractors, including that of a Patna-based contractor named Rishu Shree, the agency says.

The ED carried out searches at the residential premises of these officials in Patna. The searches led to the seizure of cash amounting to around Rs11.64 crore, a huge number of property-related documents, documents relating to the sharing of bribe money, along with various other incriminating documents and digital evidence.

Following the ED raids, the Bihar government decided to sack Mr Das. Although Mr Das retired in October last year, he was reinstated by the state Cabinet for two years.

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