Kolkata | October 13, 2025.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday wrapped up a nearly 20-hour-long search operation at the office of West Bengal Fire and Emergency Services Minister Sujit Bose and at a restaurant owned by his son Samudra Bose, as part of its ongoing probe into the municipal recruitment scam.
According to ED sources, the searches were conducted in connection with alleged irregularities in appointments at the South Dum Dum Municipality, where hundreds of recruitments are suspected to have been made in exchange for bribes. Officials said that the team was investigating the role of accused Ayan Sil, who allegedly acted as a middleman in facilitating jobs for money.
During the operation, the central agency reportedly seized several incriminating documents, digital records, and unaccounted cash from multiple locations linked to the minister and his family.
ED officials stated that the evidence would be examined to determine financial links between the suspects and the irregular appointments.
Minister Bose, who was present during the searches, criticized the central agency’s actions, calling them politically motivated.The ED had earlier carried out raids at six different premises, including Bose’s Salt Lake office and his residence, as part of the same investigation. Another report suggested that officials recovered around ₹45 lakh in cash from the minister’s properties, though the agency has not officially confirmed the amount.
The recruitment scam probe, which initially focused on the school jobs case, has now widened to cover municipal appointments across several districts. The ED claims that more than 300 appointments were made through fraudulent means in the South Dum Dum municipality alone.
As the investigation deepens, political tensions have escalated in West Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) accusing central agencies of using intimidation tactics, while the BJP maintains that the ED is only “doing its duty” to expose corruption.
