Kolkata, May 15: Rathin Ghosh, the former Food and Supplies Minister of West Bengal, finally appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Salt Lake, Kolkata, on Friday. He had been evading summons related to a multi-crore municipal recruitment scam. Ghosh served in the previous state government led by Mamata Banerjee.
Despite the recent defeat of the Trinamool Congress in the West Bengal Assembly elections, Ghosh successfully secured his seat for the fourth consecutive time from his home constituency, Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district.
Ghosh arrived at the ED office around 11 AM. Before entering for questioning, he told waiting reporters that he was unclear about the reasons for the central agency’s summons.
Last month, the ED had issued notices to Ghosh for questioning ahead of the Assembly elections. However, he ignored four notices, claiming he was busy with election-related activities.
Ultimately, he presented himself at the central agency’s office on Friday morning.
Earlier this week, ED officials arrested Sujit Bose, the former Fire Services Minister under Mamata Banerjee’s government, in connection with the same municipal recruitment case.
After a 10-hour interrogation at the Salt Lake office, Bose was arrested on the night of May 11. He was presented in a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on May 12, where the judge remanded him to ED custody until May 21.
The ED first learned about the recruitment scam when they were conducting a raid related to another money laundering case linked to the ‘cash-for-school jobs’ scandal involving Trinamool Congress promoter Ayan Seal.
Following a directive from the Calcutta High Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also initiated a parallel investigation into the municipal recruitment matter.
As both central agencies progressed with their inquiries, several politically influential figures, including state ministers and leaders of the ruling party, emerged in the investigation.
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