Searches hit his office, restaurant and eight other sites around Kolkata as the inquiry continues
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided West Bengal fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose's office and a restaurant and eight other locations in and around Kolkata on Friday into the municipal recruitment scam probe.
It had conducted a marathon raid at Mr Bose's residence in January last year and also questioned him in the same case. This time, an ED team turned up at the Trinamul Congress MLA’s office at Sector 1 in Salt Lake at around 6 am on Friday.
Another team visited his restaurant at VIP Road in Lake Town and a lounge bar run by his son in the vicinity. After the end of the raid later in the day, Mr Bose alleged that the steps were intended by the BJP to put pressure on him and his family ahead of the Assembly Election.
Meanwhile, the central agency also knocked on the doors and a godown of Nitai Dutta, who is a TMC councillor and vice chairman of South Dum Dum Municipality, and an office of an auditor at Beliaghata in the same case.
The ED’s move however left the state BJP a divided house about its effectiveness ahead of the polls with its chief and Rajya Sabha MP Sameek Bhattacharya openly questioning the central agency's lack of continuity in the probe.
He alleged, “People have become hopeless at the ED's time consuming probe. Sometimes it wakes up, otherwise it gets slow. We are also irritated to see this.” Differing with him, union minister Sukanta Majumdar said, “As far as we know, these raids happened to those who were involved in the municipality recruitment scam.”
He added, “It came to light simultaneously with the School Service Commission scam. Then the court ordered the ED to probe it. If needed, chief minister Mamata Banerjee can move the court instead of blaming the ED. The ED is only discharging its duty. Someone can't get scot free after committing theft.”
