ED grills J'khand Cong MLA for more than 9 hrs in cash haul case

The Enforcement Directorate questioned Jharkhand's Congress MLA Kumar Jaimangal Singh alias Anup Singh for more than nine hours on Saturday in connection with its probe into the cash seizure from three legislators of the state, an official of the central agency said.

Singh appeared before sleuths of the agency in its zonal office here in connection with the cash recovery from Jharkhand MLAs in West Bengal's Howrah district, he said.

Singh, however, claimed that he was not summoned as an accused but as a complainant in the case.

"As a responsible citizen and people's representative, I came here to cooperate with the ED in the investigation," said Singh, who came out from the ED office around 9 pm.

Singh said he gave his statement as provided to the Kolkata Police under section 164 of CrPC.

"I assured the ED officers of full cooperation," he said.

The three Congress MLAs from Jharkhand -- Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachchap and Naman Bixal Kongari -- were arrested by the West Bengal Police after over Rs 49 lakh in cash was seized from their vehicle in Howrah in July.

Singh had lodged a complaint with Ranchi's Argora Police Station, alleging that the accused MLAs had offered him Rs 10 crore and a ministerial berth for toppling the Jharkhand government.

The ED is investigating the money laundering aspect of the case.