By Matters India Reporter
Jabalpur, April 14, 2023: A special court in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has remanded ousted Protestant Bishop P C Singh in seven days custody of Directorate of Enforcement (ED) for interrogation.
Officials from the ED reportedly arrested the former Church of North Indian prelate from his residence in Jabalpur on April 12 night and produced before the special court in Jabalpur the following day and took him into custody for interrogation. The court deals with cases of money laundering.
Bishop Singh came to the ED radar following the September 2022 raid of his office and residence by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW), a provincial probe agency dealing with economic offences in Madhya Pradesh. The ED is the economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
The EOW, during its raid, seized cash worth 16 million rupees and foreign currency worth some US$250 from the bishop’s house, besides documents of properties and vehicles allegedly disproportionate to his income.
They charged him with misappropriation of funds, forgery and cheating among other things.
Bishop Singh was also accused of diverting the funds of diocesan schools for his personal use and was suspected of having been involved in money laundering.
The seizure of foreign currency from his possession, however, primarily an official source said, “led to the entry of ED into the money laundering probe against Singh.”
EOW sleuths arrested Singh in September 2022 and remanded him in judicial custody until January.
Bishop Singh was also the moderator of the Church of North India that has 27 dioceses. Soon after his arrest the Synod, top decision making body of the CNI dismissed him from both the offices.
The federal agency in March this year carried out two days searches in his office and residence and seized documents; however, he was not arrested.
The federal team also interrogated Singh, his family members, and their associates during the course of the raid.