Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata

Kolkata, Aug 26: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday following an extensive five-hour raid at his residence in Burwan, Murshidabad, as part of the ongoing probe into the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam.

In a dramatic turn during the operation, Saha allegedly attempted to escape by climbing over his boundary wall and tried to destroy evidence by throwing one of his mobile phones into nearby bushes. However, he was quickly intercepted by central security personnel stationed outside the property. The ED team later recovered the phone, which Saha had failed to switch off. Officials simply traced the device by calling it.

Further investigation revealed that Saha had been using two mobile phones but initially tried to conceal this from the ED team. Discrepancies in his statements during on-site questioning led to his arrest. He is being transported to Kolkata, where he will be presented in the Bankshall court. The ED is expected to seek his custody for further interrogation.

This is not the first time the MLA has been in trouble over the recruitment scam. In 2023, he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the same case after a similar attempt to destroy evidence — throwing two phones into a pond, which were later recovered after the water was drained. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court after spending 13 months in custody.

While the CBI is probing the corruption angle of the SSC recruitment scam, the ED is tracking the financial trail. Monday’s arrest came amid a wider ED crackdown across West Bengal. Several locations were raided, including Saha’s in-laws' residence in Raghunathganj and properties linked to his wife Togor Saha.

The ED also raided the home of Maya Saha, a TMC councillor and relative of the MLA, in Birbhum district. Additionally, the residence of bank employee Rajesh Ghosh in Mahish village was searched. These coordinated operations followed new intelligence that emerged after earlier raids on four properties in Kolkata, reportedly linked to Prasanna Roy — an alleged middleman in the 2016 SSC recruitment scam.

The fresh arrests and searches mark a renewed push by central agencies to unearth the full extent of the alleged irregularities and the money trail behind the large-scale corruption that marred the state’s education recruitment process.