CBI raids residences of several TMC leaders in school recruitment scam

Less than 24 hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress of destroying West Bengal with large-scale corruption, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a fresh set of simultaneous and wide-spread search operations at the residences of several Trinamool Congress leaders, including an MLA and two civic body councillors belonging to the ruling TMC dispensation, for their alleged involvement in the State’s school recruitment scam. The agency also claimed to have seized at least Rs 28 lakh in cash and unaccounted jewellery from the house of Jafikul Islam, the MLA of Domkal in Murshidabad district.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

The raids began early Thursday morning in at least eight locations of Calcutta, Murshidabad and Cooch Behar. They were reportedly conducted as a follow-up action to the investigation leads received from examining some of the prime suspects earlier arrested in the case. Among the heavyweight Trinamool leaders in the custody of the central agencies are former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, MLA and former president of the state primary education board Manik Bhattacharya and MLA Jiban Krishna Saha.

Among the premises raided by the CBI on Thursday were the residences of Jafikul Islam, the MLA of Domkal in Murshidabad district, and Calcutta Municipal Corporation councillor Bappadittya Dasgupta, and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation councillor Debraj Chakraborty. In political circles, Chakraborty is known to be close to Abhishek Banerjee, the Trinamool’s number two and nephew of Mamata Banerjee.