Kolkata: The ED resumed its raids Friday and searched the residences of state Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose, TMC MLA Tapas Roy and another TMC leader in connection with the alleged irregularities in civic body recruitments.
The ED raids of Friday are the first since the assault of ED officers during a raid at the residence of a TMC leader ar Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district just a week ago.
Friday the exercise began the exercise at 7 am and it is still on.
The Enforcement Directorate officers initially faced resistance when attempting to enter Bose’s residence and gained access after about 40 minutes, sources in the agency said.
“We are carrying a search warrant but even after showing it, we were initially not allowed to enter,” an ED officer said.
In a departure from the previous instances in the state, a substantial contingent of central police personnel cordoned off Bose’s residence and prevented any gathering of party supporters near it. The central forces were equipped with additional protective gear, including helmets and automatic guns.
The sleuths of the central agency searched two residences of Bose in Lake Town area of North 24 Parganas district. Additionally, searches were conducted at Roy’s B B Ganguly Street residence in central Kolkata and Subodh Chakraborty’s residence at Birati, also in North 24 Parganas.
Forces were dispatched to the residences of the three leaders by respective local police stations too. They cordoned off the areas around the houses.
The heightened security response followed the violent attack on ED officers which left three of them injured during an attempt to raid the home of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan at Sandeshkhali in connection with the ration distribution scam.
“We are conducting search operations at the residences of three TMC leaders in connection with the recruitments in civic bodies. We are also talking to the leaders,” an ED spokesperson said.
The TMC has denounced the coordinated searches at the homes of the party leaders terming them as “vendetta politics and a desperate manoeuvre” by BJP before the Lok Sabha polls this year. The charge was dismissed as “baseless” by the West Bengal BJP.
Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh asserted, “This is an attempt to divert the public and media’s attention from various burning issues. The BJP appears to be sensing growing public discontent and is using every means at its disposal to change the narrative. This is a clear example of vendetta politics”.
TMC leader and West Bengal Industry Minister Shashi Panja hit out at the Centre alleging that central investigation agencies are being used as a tool to “harass” leaders of opposition parties. “It is crystal clear that the Centre is using the central investigating agencies as a tool for this,” she said.
Dismissing the charges, BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “Whenever the ED or CBI conduct raids TMC leaders’ cry foul and accuse them of being politically motivated. The reality is that the TMC is deeply mired in corruption with nearly every leader facing corruption allegations.”
BJP MP Dilip Ghosh said it is the beginning of ‘Khela Hobe’. “We have been hearing the Khela Hobe (the game is on) slogan (of TMC). The real Khela Hobe has started now. Those who have been in the game will not be spared,” he said.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, asked Bose to keep his “bags packed”.
“The ED has raided his residence based on some inputs. He should keep his bags packed in case he is arrested,” Adhikari, a senior BJP leader, said.
The central agencies recently searched various locations, including the residence of Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim in connection with the alleged irregular recruitment in municipalities in the state.
Senior TMC minister Partha Chatterjee and leader Anubrata Mondal were arrested by the central agencies in 2022 in various corruption cases. The state Forest Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick was arrested October 27 last year in the ration distribution scam.
PTI