The Enforcement Directorate has been conducting simultaneous raids at eight locations since Saturday at two residences of Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra in West Bengal as part of its money laundering investigation into municipality recruitment irregularities. According to latest reports, search operations were launched at Mitra's Bhabanipur residence in south Kolkata and his Kamarhati residence in North 24 Parganas district. Additional raids are taking place at a property in Beleghata in north Kolkata and the premises of two local clubs in Bhabanipur and Santoshpur. The leader was also being questioned by investigators at his Dhirendranath Gupta Road residence in Bhabanipur, where he was reportedly staying with his family. All ED teams are heavily escorted by central armed police forces (CAPF) personnel during the operations.
As reported by ED officials, it is alleged that Mitra received bribes in the form of cash and gold through middlemen in relation to the appointment of undeserving candidates for various posts to different municipalities, including civic bodies of Kamarhati and adjacent Titagarh. The ED claims Mitra is linked to 125 such illegal appointments. Mitra represents the Kamarhati assembly seat in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district and is a three-time party legislator from Kamarhati, first from 2011 to 2016 and subsequently from 2021 till date. On Friday night, Mitra expressed discontent against alleged harassment of Kamarhati Municipality Chairman Gopal Saha and reportedly directed all the Trinamool Congress councillors of Kamarhati Municipality to resign.
According to ED officials, the current search operations are based on leads obtained from businessman Ayan Sil, who was arrested on March 20, 2023, in connection with the same case. Sil is alleged to have been involved in conducting recruitment processes for multiple municipalities through his company, ABS Infozone Private Limited. The ED accused the firm of irregularities in preparing OMR sheets, organising examinations, and managing interview procedures for recruitments in state-run schools. While probing the school job recruitment scam at properties linked to Sil, investigators stumbled upon alleged evidence which suggested widespread corruption in the recruitment of Group-D staff, typists, and other lower-level employees across at least seven municipalities in West Bengal. Officials believe that large sums of money were exchanged in return for securing jobs, with Kamarhati Municipality among the affected civic bodies.
In a report submitted to the Calcutta High Court in April 2023, the ED stated that Sil collected over ₹200 crore from job aspirants by promising them appointments in municipalities across Bengal, of which the agency had seized ₹111 crore. As reported by ED officials, the agency named Kamarhati, Titagarh, Kanchrapara, New Barrackpore, Taki, Halisahar, Baranagar, South and North Dum Dum municipalities where such irregular appointments allegedly took place. The agency also filed a charge sheet in connection with the case in 2024.
On May 11, the ED arrested TMC leader and former minister in Mamata Banerjee's cabinet, Sujit Bose, on charges of around 150 illegal recruitments at the South Dum Dum municipality, where he served as vice-chairman. Bose is currently in judicial custody after being arrested by the ED last month. He is accused of involvement in recruitment related irregularities in South Dum Dum Municipality in North 24 Parganas district and certain money-laundering-related cases. Meanwhile, TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee faced separate investigations as police conducted a late-night search at his Kolkata residence on June 12 in connection with a land scam investigation. The latest investigations have come at a politically sensitive time for the Trinamool Congress, with the party facing criticism and visible dissent from some MPs, MLAs, and senior leaders following its recent electoral defeat in West Bengal.
