Jailed J'khand Minister Alamgir Alam resigns from state cabinet

In a letter to Chief Minister Champai Soren from Birsa Munda Central Jail, Ranchi, Alam tendered his resignation as a cabinet minister, he said. Alam, in another letter to AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, said, "I hereby submit my resignation from the post of leader of Congress Legislature Party, Jharkhand. I shall remain grateful to the party leadership for providing me an opportunity to work and serve as CLP leader."

The Enforcement Directorate had on May 15 arrested the Congress leader in a money laundering case, days after about Rs 32 crore cash was seized from premises linked to his aide. The opposition BJP in the state last week demanded the removal of Alam from the Champai Soren cabinet.

Earlier, the chief minister had taken charge of all four portfolios held by Alam - Parliamentary Affairs, Rural Development, Rural Works and Panchayati Raj. The 70-year-old MLA from Pakur was taken into custody at the central agency's zonal office last month under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

He came under the ED radar, following the arrest of his personal secretary and state administrative service officer Sanjeev Kumar Lal (52) and the latter's domestic help Jahangir Alam (42).

During a raid, the agency seized more than Rs 32 crore in cash from a flat linked to them. The minister had earlier told reporters that he was a "law-abiding" citizen as he sought to distance himself from the activities of Lal, saying the administrative officer had worked with other ministers of the state government too in the past.

The money laundering investigation pertains to alleged irregularities in the state rural development department.The ED had said that the names of "senior bureaucrats and politicians" emerged in the case and this was being investigated.