Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with its investigation into the school jobs-for-graft scam case, sources said. He was arrested from his residence at Burwan, Murshidabad.
Saha was being interrogated by CBI sleuths since April 14 in connection with the case involving alleged illegal recruitments in government-sponsored and aided schools.
"After 75 hours of marathon interrogation, Jiban Krishna Saha was arrested at around 5 am on Monday and was taken to the Nizam Palace. After his arrest, Saha's family burst into tears. A delegation of the CBI arrested Saha and another delegation remained at his house to recover the mobile phone. Saha did not answer any questions when the media approached him.
According to reports, two mobiles of Saha, one of which he had thrown away was fished out of a pond near his residence in Murshidabad. Saha is the third TMC MLA to be arrested in connection with the investigation by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
Former state minister Partha Chatterjee, who held the education portfolio between 2014 and 2021 when the irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in state government-sponsored and-aided schools are alleged to have taken place, and another MLA Manik Bhattacharya were arrested earlier.
Bhattacharya is a former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education.
The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate are investigating the case and the alleged money trail involved in it on orders of the Calcutta High Court.
(With inputs from PTI)
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