School jobs ‘scam’: Seized incriminating proof from firm where Abhishek Banerjee is CEO, says ED

Abhishek is the nephew of the chief minister.

In a statement, the ED said: “Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted search operations under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 on 21.08.2023 & 22.08.2023 at three premises in Kolkata linked to accused Sujay Krishna Bhadra in the Teachers Recruitment Scam of West Bengal. During the search operations, various incriminating documents and digital evidence were recovered and seized.”

“The accused, Bhadra, was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of M/s Leaps and Bounds Private Limited, a company used for making dubious transactions running into crores of rupees. Bhadra was also a director in this company from April 2012 to March 2016. Abhishek Banerjee, MP from TMC, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of M/s Leaps and Bounds Private Limited and was also a director in the company from April 2012 to January 2014.”

The ED had arrested Bhadra on May 30 in connection with the recruitment scam. The ED said that in its fourth supplementary prosecution complaint filed in the case on July 28 against Bhadra and others, the PMLA court took cognizance of it after “finding a prima facie case against the accused persons”.

“The total amount of seizure and attachment in the case stands at Rs. 126.70 crore till date. The ED has so far arrested seven persons, namely Partha Chatterjee, MLA and the then Education Minister of West Bengal; Arpita Mukherjee, Manik Bhattacharya, TMC MLA and former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education; Kuntal Ghosh, Santanu Banerjee, Ayan Sil and Sujay Krishna Bhadra in the recruitment scam.”

Abhishek Banerjee, 35, who has always denied wrongdoing and had called the ED action borne out of political vendetta, hit out at the central agency and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Targeting BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, he posted on X (formerly Twitter): “It’s my open challenge to the @dir_ed and @PMOIndia to take action against all the named accused in the Narada case starting with you. Also, attaching the video just so this visual evidence serves as a resounding reminder of your inherent shamelessness, both in the past and eternally.”

Adhikari countered, saying, “Time is running out for you, use it judiciously.”

“I would like to refresh someone’s memory, who keeps repeating that he would voluntarily walk to the gallows and hang himself if the agencies find any evidence of wrongdoing against him. The people of West Bengal aren’t bothered about your shenanigans. No need to walk to the gallows, just walk to the Offices of the investigating agencies and cooperate. I hope this is enough to prod your conscience,” the BJP MLA from Nandigram added.