Municipal recruitment ‘scam’: ED summons Bengal minister Sujit Bose’s wife, son and daughter

Speaking to The Indian Express, TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty said, “We always see that before the elections, the ED and CBI comes. This has been done previously also. The people of Bengal are used to seeing it. The political conspiracy is clear.”

Meanwhile, BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar said to this newspaper, “There had been raids conducted at Sujit Bose’s CA, we all know that cash was recovered and documents recovered. Now after the ED summons, it has to be understood that a lot of the property is in the name of the wife, son and daughter, so now they have to answer to the ED about their income source. If they cannot give a proper reply, then the ED will take legal steps accordingly.”

In October, the ED had raided multiple premises linked to Sujit Bose, as well as a bar and restaurant owned by his son, in connection with alleged recruitment irregularities in Bengal municipalities.

According to sources, the ED had conducted searches at 10 locations across Kolkata and its outskirts as part of the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in municipal recruitment. In a statement issued later, the ED said that incriminating documents were “recovered”. “During the searches, various incriminating documents, including those related to property, digital devices and unexplained cash amounting to Rs 45 lakh have been seized,” the statement read.

In January 2024, two of Bose’s homes in Lake Town and his office were searched for over 14 hours, with central forces deployed across the area. The ED team had seized documents and his mobile phone for examination at the time.

In April 2023, the Calcutta High Court had directed the CBI to investigate municipal-level recruitment irregularities.