School jobs scam: Actor Bonny Sengupta, parlour owner transfer money to ED

A Kolkata-based beauty parlour owner Soma Chakraborty also returned Rs 55,63,000 to the central agency that she had allegedly taken from the expelled TMC leader.

Actor Bonny Sengupta. (File)

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A special court on Friday extended the judicial custody of former Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth leader Kuntal Ghosh, who is one of the accused in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scam, by 14 days in Kolkata. Ghosh, who was expelled by the TMC last week, has been remanded in custody till March 30, officials said.

During the hearing of the case at the Bankshall court, the Enforcement Directorate counsel Phiroze Edulji told the court that around Rs 6.50 crore were transferred to different Bengali actors and actresses from two of Ghosh’s bank accounts. The list of actors include Bonny Sengupta who recently admitted to accepting over Rs 40 lakh from Ghosh for allegedly purchasing a vehicle.

According to sources, ED has frozen 10 bank accounts of Ghosh and 15 bank accounts of another expelled youth Trinamool leader Shantanu Banerjee over their alleged involvement in the school jobs scam.

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Meanwhile, Sengupta on Thursday “transferred” Rs 44 lakh that he had reportedly taken from Ghosh, officials said. The ED had questioned Sengupta twice in connection with the case.

A Kolkata-based beauty parlour owner Soma Chakraborty also returned Rs 55,63,000 to the central agency that she had allegedly taken from the expelled TMC leader.

Sources said that the central agency had traced Chakraborty’s links with Ghosh while investigating the latter’s transactions. Officials claimed the ED had given Chakraborty five days to transfer the money. She reportedly paid all the money by Thursday evening, which was the fifth day.

“The money was a loan. I took Rs 55, 63, 000. I returned it to the ED,” Chakraborty told reporters on Friday, adding that the ED had not summoned her again.

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In May 2022, Calcutta high court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered CBI to probe the appointment of non-teaching staff (Group C and D) and teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education between 2014 and 2021. The appointees allegedly paid bribes in the range of Rs 5-15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests. ED is probing the money laundering aspect into the case.

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