ED arrests ex-Bengal minister Sujit Bose in municipality recruitment scam case

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested West Bengal's former minister and TMC leader Sujit Bose in the municipality recruitment scam.Days after TMC's rout in the West Bengal, ED questioned the senior party leader Sujit Bose in connection with its investigation into the municipality recruitment ‘scam’ case.Bose is alleged to have illegally recommended 150 candidates for different posts under the South Dum Dum Municipality in lieu of pecuniary benefits.Beore the arrest, ED traced direct proceeds of crime in the form of flats acquired by him in lieu of providing municipality jobs to various persons.Further, the anti-money laundering agency also traced huge deposits of cash in the bank accounts under his control.The ex-TMC minister will be produced Tuesday morning before the a special court.Bose, the ex-fire minister who was defeated in his stronghold Bidhannagar, were directed by court to join the probe.While CM Mamata Banerjee’s terms were marked by a string of alleged scams, the one related to recruitment to municipalities stands out because of the money trail, ED sources had told TOI, reaching precariously close to her nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, who is seen as Mamata’s putative successor, widely referred to as the CM-inwaiting until BJP landslide buried Trinamool Congress’ ambition to prolong its stay.Multiple money laundering cases being probed by ED, including political consultancy firm I-PAC in the coal smuggling ‘scam’, are set to return to Kolkata from Delhi.Probes were stalled as ED officials were allegedly being “intimidated” in Kolkata and many accused refused to cooperate despite repeated summons.Sources said ED is also likely to resume questioning of the accused, including Abhishek, his wife Rujira, ex-DGP Rajeev Kumar, ex-Kolkata police commissioner Manoj Verma, then DCP Priyabrata Roy, besides I-PAC chief Pratik Jain, from whose premises Mamata, in the presence of her police brass, took away files seized by the agency during a January 8 search operation.