.webp)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a high-profile raid at the residence of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha in Burwan, Murshidabad district, on Monday morning, as part of an ongoing investigation into the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam. The raid, carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in probing alleged financial irregularities linked to the scam, which involves the illegal hiring of teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run schools.
In a dramatic turn of events, Saha allegedly attempted to evade ED officials by scaling the boundary wall of his residence and throwing his mobile phone into a nearby drain in an apparent bid to destroy evidence. The agency is yet to issue a formal statement confirming the same. However, ED officers were later seen bringing the MLA back to his place, one of the officers also carrying a wet mobile phone in hand, indicatively recovered from the drain, seizing it for further investigation. This incident echoes a similar episode in April 2023, when Saha, during a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raid at his home, threw two mobile phones into a pond adjacent to his property. After an extensive effort involving draining the pond, the CBI recovered one of the phones, which was believed to contain critical digital evidence.
Saha, the MLA from Burwan, was arrested by the CBI on April 17, 2023, after a 65-hour interrogation in connection with the same SSC scam. He was accused of acting as a conduit, collecting bribes ranging from ₹5 lakh to ₹15 lakh from candidates in exchange for teaching and non-teaching positions in government schools. The Supreme Court granted him bail in May 2024 after 13 months in custody. The ED’s latest raid stems from fresh leads, including information about a monetary transaction involving an individual from Birbhum district, prompting the agency to search Saha’s residence and the homes of his relatives and associates.
The SSC scam, which surfaced in 2022, has implicated several TMC leaders, including former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and former West Bengal Board of Primary Education president Manik Bhattacharya, both arrested by the ED. The Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI to investigate the scam in November 2021, following petitions alleging irregularities in the recruitment process, including candidates with lower marks receiving appointments over more qualified applicants. The Supreme Court later canceled thousands of fraudulent appointments, to the tune of more than 25,000.
During Monday’s raid, ED officials, accompanied by central security forces, began their operation early in the morning. Sources indicate that the agency is seeking new evidence of money laundering linked to the scam, with Saha’s wife, having been questioned previously in connection with the case. The recovery of the phone from the drain is may lead to crucial digital evidence. Parallel raids were also launched at residence of Saha’s in-laws place in Murshidabad’s Raghunathganj.
