ED Conducts Raids at Bengal Minister Sujit Bose’s Premises in Kolkata Amid Civic Body Recruitment Scam Probe

Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently conducting raids at the properties of Sujit Bose, a West Bengal minister and prominent Trinamool Congress leader in Kolkata. This operation is part of the agency’s investigation into an alleged civic body recruitment scam. Simultaneously, the central agency is executing search and seizure operations in various locations in Kolkata and its outskirts as it delves into the ongoing probe regarding suspected irregularities in state-run school recruitments in West Bengal.

Several other high-profile TMC figures, including party spokesperson Tapas Roy and former North Dum Dum Municipality chairman Subodh Chakraborty, are also subjects of the ongoing searches by the enforcement agency.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had previously summoned Sujit Bose, the Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services, last year in connection with purported irregularities in municipal recruitments in the state. Despite the summons, Bose claimed to have not received any official notice from the CBI. In a press conference, he affirmed his willingness to cooperate with the investigative process if formally notified, asserting that he perceived the situation as a political conspiracy aimed at targeting him.

Bose, who previously served as the vice-chairman of South Dum Dum Municipality from 2010 to 2021, during which an alleged 250 individuals were recruited to the civic body under dubious circumstances, finds himself at the center of scrutiny.

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It is noteworthy that both the CBI and ED had informed the Calcutta High Court about a potential connection between the civic body recruitment scam and the West Bengal school recruitment scam. In a related development on December 28 of the previous year, the probe agency had conducted raids at nine different locations in Kolkata, targeting offices and residences in areas such as Burrabazar, Kakurgachi, and EM Bypass in their efforts to investigate the school recruitment scam case.