Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the multi-crore school recruitment case in West Bengal has now summoned actress-turned-politician and Trinamool Congress state youth wing president Sayani Ghosh for questioning in connection with the case.
She was summoned at ED’s central government office (CGO) complex at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata on June 30. A notice had been served to Ghosh late Tuesday evening, sources said.
Sources said that the notice to Ghosh was issued after two clues came to the notice of ED sleuths. The first was recovery of some WhatsApp chats between Ghosh and expelled youth Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, who is currently in judicial custody because of his alleged involvement in the school recruitment case.
Secondly, sources said, some banking transactions between Sayani Ghosh and Kuntal Ghosh relating to some purchase of property were found. The WhatsApp chat history has been recovered from the mobile phone of Kuntal Ghosh.
Sayani Ghosh is not the first celebrity from the Bengali silver screen world who has been summoned and questioned by ED sleuths in connection with the school recruitment case. In March this year, actor Bonny Sengupta was similarly questioned by the central agency sleuths after it came to the notice that the investigating officials got access to clues of Sengupta receiving a huge amount of money from Kuntal Ghosh.
Sengupta at the point told ED officials he got Rs 40 lakh loan from Ghosh for purchasing his new high-end premium vehicle. He also added that he repaid the loan by performing in at least 20 events organised by Ghosh. However, he was unable to furnish any document of such an agreement to the ED sleuths. Later Sengupta also returned Rs 40 lakhs to Ghosh.
Meanwhile, a political slugfest has surfaced over the ED notice to Sayani Ghosh for questioning. State Trinamool Congress spokesman Kunal Ghosh questioned the timing of sending the notice to the actress turned-politician at a time when the full- fledged campaign for the forthcoming panchayat polls in the state are on.
(IANS)
