TMC leaders Rathin Ghosh, Abhishek Banerjee grilled by ED in WB scams

TMC MLA Rathin Ghosh and National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee appeared before the ED in Kolkata for questioning in the alleged municipality and primary teachers' recruitment scams, respectively, as part of the agency's ongoing probes.

TMC Leaders Questioned in Recruitment Scams

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA and former West Bengal minister Rathin Ghosh on Monday left the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Kolkata after participating in the agency's probe into the alleged municipality recruitment scam. Ghosh appeared before ED officials as part of the ongoing investigation into the case. He departed from the agency's office after the questioning session. The Enforcement Directorate is probing alleged irregularities in municipal recruitments in West Bengal. Further details are awaited.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Monday also reached the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with the alleged multi-crore Primary Teachers Recruitment scam in West Bengal.

Earlier this month, Banerjee was summoned and asked to appear before the central agency to join the ongoing investigation. The summons is part of the ED's probe into alleged irregularities in the recruitment process of primary teachers, which has been under scrutiny for suspected financial misconduct and procedural violations.

Background of the Broader Investigation

The move comes five months after ED's Kolkata zonal office in January this year attached immovable properties having a total value of 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 IX to XII).

On July 23, 2022, the ED had arrested former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee after cash worth over Rs 50 crore and gold jewellery worth Rs 4.5 crore was recovered from the residence of his close aide Arpita Mukherjee during raids linked to the cash-for-jobs scam, in which thousands of unqualified candidates were "illegally appointed to teaching and non-teaching positions across State-run and State- aided schools in West Bengal" in place of extraneous consideration."

In the Primary Teachers Recruitment Scam in West Bengal, ED has already attached and seized properties worth Rs 154 crore.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment dated April 3, 2025, had quashed the appointments of more than 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff, holding the entire recruitment process to be vitiated and tainted.

The ED had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) for offences registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Meanwhile, the CBI had registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including the Prevention of Corruption Act.

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