Kolkata, May 12: Sujit Bose, the former fire services minister of West Bengal and a leader of the Trinamool Congress, was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Monday night. He is accused of being involved in a multi-crore municipal employment scam that occurred during the previous government.
Bose appeared at the ED’s Salt Lake office in the northern suburbs of Kolkata for questioning this morning. After nearly 11 hours of interrogation, he was taken into custody by the central investigative agency.
Recently, Bose lost in the West Bengal assembly elections from his home constituency, Bidhannagar. He arrived at the ED’s CGO Complex office around 10:30 AM with his son, Samudra Bose.
Previously, Bose had appeared at the ED office on May 1 and May 4, but after lengthy questioning on both occasions, he was allowed to leave. Ultimately, he was arrested on Monday in connection with the same case.
Before his arrest, ED officials conducted searches at several locations linked to Bose, including his residence, office, and his son’s restaurant near VIP Road.
Bose has previously criticized the ED’s actions during the elections, alleging that the investigation is politically motivated. He stated in a media interaction that his condition is not so dire that he needs to sell jobs for money, asserting that people are aware of the situation. He described it as a conspiracy by the Election Commission and the ED.
The ED first uncovered information about the municipal job scam during raids related to another money laundering case involving Trinamool Congress promoter Ayan Sil, linked to a cash-for-jobs scandal in schools. Following this, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated a parallel investigation into the municipal employment matter after an order from the Calcutta High Court. As both central agencies progressed in their investigations, several politically influential individuals, including state ministers and ruling party leaders, emerged in connection with the case.
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