School jobs case: ED quizzes Rujira for 8 hrs

KOLKATA: Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday questioned Rujira Banerjee, wife of Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, for more than eight hours in connection with the primary teacher recruitment case.
The summons to Banerjee, a former director of Leaps & Bounds Pvt Ltd, came after agency officials questioned the company's chief operating officer Sujay Krishna Bhadra (now in custody) and learnt that he would meet former West Bengal Board of Primary Education president Manik Bhattacharya at his office. ED had issued a press release describing Leaps & Bounds as "a company charged with executing dubious transactions running into crores of rupees".
Banerjee, who had sought protection from the Calcutta High Court, stating that percolation of news to the media during the investigation was affecting her right to privacy and causing prejudice against her and her family, arrived at the Salt Lake CGO Complex office at 11am in response to the ED summons sent to her last week.
ED officials asked Banerjee about her role as director of the company. In a charge sheet filed earlier, the agency had claimed that Bhadra was in touch with Abhishek and they spoke over the phone. Investigators asked Banerjee whether Bhadra had been in touch with her.
The agency allowed Banerjee to leave after investigators spoke to officials in New Delhi over video-conference about her recorded statement. She exited the agency office around 7.30pm and got into a car waiting at the gate.
While Banerjee had resigned as Leaps & Bounds director, Abhishek's parents Amit Banerjee and Lata Banerjee continue to hold the posts.