Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Kolkata Zonal Office, has provisionally attached immovable properties worth approximately Rs 57.78 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (SSC) assistant teacher recruitment scam (Classes 9 to 12), an official said.
According to a statement issued by the agency on Wednesday, the attached properties belong to arrested Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, Prasanna Kumar Roy and others. The properties include multiple residential apartments, villas and land parcels located at Rajarhat, New Town, Patharghata, Garagari and other adjoining areas in North 24 Parganas district, as well as Murshidabad and East Burdwan districts, including HIDCO-developed areas of Kolkata.
The agency said these properties were found to have been acquired out of the proceeds of crime generated through illegal appointments of assistant teachers in Classes 9 to 12.
The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of CBI FIRs registered on the directions of the Calcutta High Court.
The investigation pertains to alleged large-scale manipulation in the recruitment process conducted by the West Bengal Central School Service Commission, wherein OMR sheets and personality test scores were tampered with and appointments were allegedly made after the expiry of panels to accommodate undeserving candidates in lieu of illegal gratification.
The ED said its investigation revealed that Prasanna Kumar Roy acted as the main middleman in the scam and, along with his associates, collected huge amounts of cash from undeserving candidates for securing illegal appointments.
The proceeds of crime, amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees, were allegedly laundered through a complicated network of companies, LLPs and bank accounts, and were ultimately utilised for acquisition of immovable properties.
The ED further claimed that Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, a key accused in the assistant teacher recruitment scam, was actively involved in the collection and handling of proceeds of crime collected from undeserving candidates for securing their appointments to the posts of Group C, Group D and assistant teachers.
Jiban Krishna Saha was arrested on August 25 last year by the ED following his attempt to flee during searches at his home in Murshidabad.
The agency said the investigation established that the proceeds of crime so collected were utilised for acquisition of immovable properties in the name of Jiban Krishna Saha and his family members, primarily located in Murshidabad and East Burdwan districts.
These properties, valued at approximately Rs 3.01 crore, were found to have been acquired out of the laundered proceeds allegedly generated through the illegal recruitment process.
The ED said the investigation also revealed that a large number of properties were acquired in the name of Nilima Mangal, a close associate and ex-wife of Prasanna Kumar Roy. It claimed that substantial funds used for acquisition of these properties were sourced from illegal recruitment scams.
Earlier, the ED had arrested Prasanna Kumar Roy in this case and filed a prosecution complaint before the special court, which has taken cognisance of the offence of money laundering.
(IANS)
