The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on Friday at the residences of West Bengal minister Sujit Bose, TMC MLA Tapas Roy and former North Dumdum Municipality chairman Subodh Chakraborty in connection with a municipality jobs scam. Meanwhile, tight security has been implemented at the locations undergoing the raids.
Accompanied by central forces, ED officers conducted searches at two residences of Bose in the Lake Town area in North 24 Parganas district early Friday morning. Additionally, the central agency officers carried out raids at Tapas Roy's BB Ganguly Street residence and Chakraborty's residence in Birati. "We are conducting search operations at the residences of three TMC leaders in connection with the recruitments in civic bodies. We are also talking to the leaders," and officer told the news agency PTI.
The alleged irregularities in municipality recruitments came to light with the arrest of Kolkata-based builder Ayan Sheel by the ED on March 19 in connection with the school jobs scam. The ED asserted that OMR answer sheets of candidates for various posts in several municipalities were discovered at Ayan's Salt Lake office during a search.
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How matter came to light?
In August last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned Sujit Bose for questioning in the ongoing probe into purported irregularities in municipal appointments between 2014 and 2016. The Calcutta High Court had dismissed the state government's plea for a stay on the CBI investigation into the alleged scam in municipal hiring.
Probe agencies' reports to High Court
Both the CBI and ED informed the Calcutta High Court of links between the civic body recruitment scam and the bribe-for-job scam in the West Bengal school education department, resulting in the arrest of former education minister Partha Chatterjee. Bose, who served as vice chairman of South Dum Dum Municipality from 2010 to 2021, during which nearly 250 people were recruited, is the first cabinet minister to be summoned in this case.
(With inputs from agencies)
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