ED Steps Up Probe into Kolkata Job Scam With Raids on Six Locations

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched coordinated search operations at six locations across Kolkata on Friday, including the residence-cum-office of West Bengal Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister Sujit Bose in Salt Lake, as part of its money laundering investigation into alleged recruitment irregularities at Dum Dum Municipality. The raids, targeting properties linked to Bose and residences of former municipal officials, focus on gathering documentary evidence of corruption in the civic body's hiring processes, according to a senior ED official. This marks the second such action at Bose's premises, following a 12-hour interrogation in January 2024, amid accusations that the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led government manipulated job allocations for political gain.

The probe stems from a 2022 Calcutta High Court directive that exposed widespread anomalies in West Bengal's school and civic recruitment drives, leading to the cancellation of over 25,000 appointments and sparking protests by aggrieved candidates. In the Dum Dum case, complaints allege that at least 100 positions—ranging from clerks to health officers—were filled through bribes and nepotism between 2017 and 2021, with kickbacks reportedly funnelled through shell entities.

ED sources indicate the Friday searches uncovered ledgers and digital records suggesting syphoning of public funds exceeding Rs. 10 crore, though no arrests were made on the spot. Bose, a three-term TMC MLA from Bidhannagar, has denied involvement, claiming the raids are politically motivated ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. "These are attempts to malign honest public servants," he stated earlier this year, echoing TMC's narrative of a central agency vendetta under the BJP-led Centre.

The operations extended to the homes of ex-municipal commissioner Debabrata Majumdar and other officials implicated in the scandal, with ED teams seizing electronic devices and financial documents. An ED spokesperson clarified that Bose's office was not initially targeted but was included based on fresh leads from prior interrogations. This escalation follows similar raids in the cash-for-jobs scam involving primary teachers, where former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee was jailed in 2022 with assets worth Rs. 21 crore recovered. West Bengal has seen over 50 ED cases since 2021, recovering Rs. 1,200 crore in alleged illicit gains, highlighting systemic graft in state-run recruitments that affect over 2 million government jobs annually.

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As opposition parties like the BJP demand Bose's resignation and a special investigation team, the TMC accuses the ED of selective targeting, citing 200 pending cases against opposition leaders nationwide. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, addressing a rally in Howrah, reiterated support for her cabinet colleague, urging calm amid rising political temperatures. The raids, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), could lead to asset attachments if links to benami properties are established, further straining Centre-state relations in poll-bound Bengal.

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