New Delhi: Senior Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer Rajeshwar Singh has applied for retirement from the service and is expected to join the Bharatiya Janata Party soon. According to media reports, IPS officer Rajeshwar Singh is in constant talks with prominent leaders of the ruling party, and may even contest the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
Quoting sources, a PTI report said Singh has applied for retirement from IPS. While the application is yet to be accepted, there are chances he may join the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, and also contest the assembly polls in the central Indian state expected to be held early next year.
His sister Abha Singh, a lawyer based in Mumbai, also posted a message on her Twitter handle with a photograph of her and Singh stating: "Congratulations to my brother #RajeshwarSingh of the #ED for opting for early retirement to serve the country. Nation needs you."
A BTech and PhD in police, human rights and social justice, Singh is currently posted as the joint director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its zonal office in Lucknow. Singh has carried out numerous encounters during his stint in the uniform.
During his tenure, Singh has been involved in investigating several high-profile cases, including the 2G spectrum allocation case, 2010 Commonwealth Games 'scam', and money laundering probe against former Union finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda.
He also headed ED's headquarters investigation unit (HIU) in New Delhi that probes sensitive money laundering and foreign exchange violation cases, including those with political links.
Singh is married to IPS officer Laxmi Singh who is currently the Inspector General of Lucknow Range.
In June 2018, the Union finance ministry had submitted a secret report to the Supreme Court, which reportedly carried details of a phone call that Singh received from Dubai.
But Karnal Singh, the then ED director, however issued a statement to the media, saying the said overseas call pertained to an “ongoing investigation”, and that he was a responsible officer with outstanding career records.
The government had later launched an investigation against Rajeshwar Singh for writing a letter in which he had questioned the then revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia asking if he had developed animosity against him by “siding with scamsters and their affiliates”.
Subsequently, the revenue department issued a notice to Singh seeking an explanation for alleged “insubordination”, to which he had replied with a “regret”, PTI reported.
ED, CBI and CVC had also probed allegations of certain other irregularities against Singh, but their report to the court and the government said there was “no merit” in the accusations and hence the inquiry was closed.