Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Oct 29: In a major development in the ongoing municipality recruitment corruption probe, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted multiple raids across Kolkata, seizing over Rs 1.2 crore in cash and jewellery from the residence of a businessman in the Taratala area.
According to sources within the central agency, the search operation—still underway—forms part of a larger investigation into alleged irregularities in municipal hiring. Another ED team simultaneously raided premises in Baguihati, North Kolkata, in connection with the same case.
Officials began the Taratala raid early Wednesday morning at the home of a businessman suspected to have financial links to the recruitment scam. So far, around Rs 1.20 crore in cash has been recovered, and officials are still counting the seized money. The agency is now working to determine the source of the funds and whether they were directly tied to the corruption racket.
The latest searches follow a series of coordinated ED operations in the city. On Tuesday, officials raided the residence of a business family at 75 Hemchandra Naskar Road in Beliaghata, where six ED officers carried out extensive searches. The property belongs to brothers Biswajit and Ranajit Chowdhury, well-known local businessmen—one engaged in the textile trade and the other in the construction sector.
Investigators suspect several private entities and individuals are laundering bribe money through shell companies linked to the recruitment scam. Based on fresh intelligence about these firms, ED teams have widened their probe to multiple Kolkata neighbourhoods, including Beliaghata, Taratala, and Baguihati.
Earlier this month, the agency also raided the office of West Bengal Fire Minister Sujit Bose and a restaurant owned by his son, acting on leads connected to the same investigation. Additionally, an official from the South Dum Dum Municipality has been summoned for questioning.
The ED maintains that the ongoing raids are part of a broader crackdown to trace the money trail behind the municipality recruitment scandal, which allegedly involves large-scale bribery and misuse of public funds in hiring processes across several civic bodies in West Bengal.