The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday initiated searches at various locations in Kolkata and its nearby areas as part of its investigation into the teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal. A five-member team from the federal agency was conducting searches at the residence of a former para-teacher.
The places searched by the agency sleuths included the Patharghata area. Among the places searched included a para teacher, Abdul Amin, at the Mazar Sharif intersection in Patharghata, Newtown, said the sources. It is alleged that Abdul Amin is close to former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. He is a para teacher at the Patharghata High School.
Where raids are being conducted?
The fresh raids are conducted at the residences of the "middlemen" linked to the case based on a tip-off from the persons arrested earlier in the case. In January this year, the ED also conducted raids at nearly seven places in West Bengal as part of tracing the money trail in the teacher recruitment scam.
The federal agency then raided Prasanna Roy's two luxurious bungalows at New Town's Ideal Villas in West Bengal. Roy. A relative of Partha Chatterjee, was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation and later granted bail by the Supreme Court.
Why was TMC leader Partha Chatterjee arrested?
Former Trinamool Congress minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested on July 23, 2022, after Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore was allegedly recovered from the Kolkata residence of his close aide, Arpita Mukherjee.
The ED has alleged that several documents and bank details are seized from the possession of various suspects showing that Partha Chatterjee took help to invest money gained from the teacher recruitment scam in the state.
(With inputs from agencies)
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