Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials were conducting simultaneous raids and search operations at 10 locations in and around Kolkata, including the office of a West Bengal Minister, in connection with two separate cases of money laundering in the state.
While one of the two cases is linked to the multi-crore cash-for-municipalities’ job case in the state, the other is related to bank loan forgery.
The ten locations where the raid and search operations are being conducted include the office of the state Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata.
The ED’s raid and search operations at Bose’s office are being conducted in relation to the municipality’s job irregularities case.
The other places where the raid and search operations have been ongoing since Friday morning include New Alipore and Sarat Bose Road in South Kolkata and Nagerbajar in the northern outskirts of the state capital.
At New Alipore, the residence of a noted advocate of the Calcutta High Court is being raided. Each ED team is escorted by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel.
This is not the first time that the premises of Sujit Bose have been raided by the ED officials in relation to the municipality job irregularities case.
Earlier in January 2024, the ED officials conducted simultaneous raids and search operations at both his residence and office. Several incriminating documents, as well as Bose’s mobile phone, were seized by the ED officials then.
The ED raids in the municipalities’ job irregularities case happen at a time when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is conducting a parallel probe in the same matter, has begun preparations to file a new charge sheet in the matter.
According to CBI sources, the son of a politically influential person is also on the list and has been questioned in the investigation into the recruitment scam. However, his name has not been disclosed. Under such circumstances, the CBI has started the process of filing a new charge sheet in the municipal recruitment scam case. It is believed that the findings will be mentioned in the new charge sheet.
Investigation in the case was initiated on the basis of the CBI FIR. The Calcutta High Court had directed the registration of the FIR on an application filed by ED, stating that the recruitment scam is not limited only to the school teachers but also extends to the recruitment of various posts in the municipalities of West Bengal.
(IANS)
