The Enforcement Directorate (ED) expanded its investigation into the high-profile teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal with a series of raids across Kolkata on Thursday. Over 12 hours, ED officials searched eight locations allegedly linked to middlemen involved in the collection and transfer of illicit funds related to the scam.
The raids focused on residences, offices, and properties connected to intermediaries accused of enabling the scam in exchange for bribes. Teams of ED officers, accompanied by central forces, conducted searches in areas like New Town, Nayabad, and Mukundapur from 6:30 AM to 10 PM.
According to an ED officer, family members of implicated middlemen were also questioned about suspicious transactions and assets. One intermediary with purported close ties to arrested ex-minister Partha Chatterjee and MLA Jibon Saha has drawn particular scrutiny. He allegedly owns over 400 assets in the state, prompting a wider probe into the origins of his wealth based on bank and property records.
Moreover, the ongoing investigation revealed the name of another suspected agent whose residence faced a raid. Later, officers came upon information regarding an additional property registered under the name of one intermediary and his associates, resulting in another search operation.
The ED raids came on the heels of CBI identifying the same middleman as a vital link in the job appointment racket. Last week, the ED also searched the Kolkata house of TMC MLA Tapas Roy over similar allegations of irregularities around civic body recruitment.
As the scale and intensity of the probe expand, investigators seek to unravel the complex financial trail connecting politicians, bureaucrats, and middlemen in the high-profile scam. The raids represent a wider effort to identify and dismantle channels used to extract and distribute illegal funds.
