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Former minister Alamgir Alam, who was in jail for almost two years in the much-discussed tender commission scam and money laundering case of Jharkhand’s Rural Development Department, was released on bail from Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi on Wednesday. The process of his release was completed after getting bail from the Supreme Court. His wife Nishat Alam became the surety.

The Supreme Court had granted him bail on Monday itself, but his release was not possible on Tuesday due to the copy of the order not being uploaded on the official portal on time. Alamgir Alam and his personal secretary Sanjeev Lal were in judicial custody since May 2024. After not getting relief from the lower court and Jharkhand High Court, he had approached the Supreme Court. During his release, his supporters celebrated outside the jail, bursting fireworks and distributing sweets.

However, the opposition has reacted sharply to this celebration. Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand Assembly Babulal Marandi has called it merely an ‘interim relief’ granted on the basis of age and illness rather than an ‘honorable acquittal’.

Babulal Marandi taunted on social media and said, “Bail is being celebrated as if a revolutionary has returned after fighting for freedom. Is black money worth crores and robbing the poor of their rights an achievement to be celebrated?” He reminded of the incident when a mountain of notes (about Rs 32.20 crore) was found from the house of Jahangir Alam, assistant to Alamgir Alam’s personal secretary, for which machines had to be called to count.

Marandi warned that relief can be achieved on the basis of power and resources, but the stain of corruption is not easily erased. Giving the example of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s legal journey, he said that the shadow of such cases does not leave you till the end. This matter is to the tender commission network organized in the Rural Development Department.

According to the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a commission of about three percent of the total contract amount was charged for allotting government tenders. Out of this, 1.35 percent amount was allegedly delivered to the then minister.

In the raid conducted on May 6, 2024, Rs 32.2 crore were recovered from the residence of Jahangir Alam, while lakhs of rupees in cash were recovered from the residence and office of Sanjeev Lal. In the same case, ED had arrested Alamgir Alam on 15 May 2024.