KOLKATA – After the arrest of Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha on Monday in connection with the multi-crore School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam, the political situation in West Bengal has become more tense. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained Saha, the member from Burwan seat, after a dramatic raid on his home. He is said to have tried to escape by jumping from the balcony of his first-floor flat and dumping his phone into a gutter.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh has quickly spoken out against the government agency’s action, saying it was done for political reasons. Ghosh said, “The day before yesterday, PM Modi spoke at a rally in Kolkata and asked for votes for the BJP. After that, all these central investigating agencies got busy.” “It was expected because things aren’t going well in the BJP.” The TMC has always said that the BJP is using central agencies to go after opposition figures for political reasons.
The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been looking into the SSC fraud for a long time. It has to do with a lot of problems with hiring teachers and non-teaching personnel in state-run institutions. Several well-known TMC members, including former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, have already been arrested because of the scandal.
On the other side of the political spectrum, Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal and the BJP leader, praised the arrest. He said that Saha “made collections” at the orders of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew. He further said, “It is good that the Collector has been arrested.” Adhikari said that Saha’s arrest was important, but that the people who are really guilty for the scheme “should also be detained.”
ED officials say that Saha was arrested after a planned operation based on new information about a money transaction connected to the scheme. This is the second time Saha has been arrested in connection with the case; the CBI arrested him in 2023 but later let him go on bail. The CBI is in charge of the criminal inquiry, while the ED is looking into the money trail in the scandal.
Saha is being held in ED custody for six days, and the next hearing in his case is set on August 30. Jakir Hossain, his lawyer, has said that his client is cooperating with the investigation and has already given proof in writing of a deal of ₹46 lakhs. As West Bengal gets ready for its assembly elections, the ongoing investigation and resultant arrests have kept the political stew boiling.