Arrested TMC MLA sent to judicial remand by PMLA court in ED case

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here on Saturday remanded TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to judicial custody for 14 days.

Saha, who was arrested on August 25 by the federal agency on money laundering charges, was produced before the court at the end of his six-day ED remand.

The agency's lawyer Bhaskar Prasad Banerjee prayed before the special court judge for Saha's judicial custody. The MLA did not make any bail prayer before the court.

The legislator from the Burwan constituency in Murshidabad district was arrested by the federal probe agency after searches were conducted at his residence.

The raids also covered the premises of his associates and an alleged middleman named Prasanna Kumar Roy.

Saha was earlier arrested by the CBI in connection with the alleged school jobs recruitment irregularities in April, 2023 and was granted bail by the Supreme Court in May, 2024.

The ED has alleged that Saha, along with his associates, acted as an agent for collecting huge sums of money from "undeserving" candidates in exchange for jobs for the post of assistant teachers in West Bengal.

The probe pertains to alleged illegal appointments of Assistant Teachers (Classes 9-12) in the schools of the West Bengal government, and this is alleged to have been done in criminal conspiracy with officials of the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).

The Supreme Court, in April this year, cancelled the appointments of more than 25,000 candidates who were hired as teachers and staff by the SSC, by terming the process as fraud.

Saha, the ED has alleged in a statement, along with his associates, acted as an agent for collecting huge sums of money from undeserving candidates in exchange for jobs for the post of Assistant Teachers.

The agency said various candidates, in their statements recorded with the ED, have "confirmed" making "direct" cash payments to Saha in lieu of appointments.

The agency also said Saha, during the searches, attempted to flee from the premises and tried to destroy evidence by throwing/hiding his mobile phones in a drain, which were later recovered by the search team.

A similar attempt was made by Saha when he was arrested by the CBI in 2023 and he had thrown his mobile phones in a pond behind his residence. A search team of the central agency had later recovered the gadgets.

The agency has said the proceeds of crime in this case run into "hundreds of crores of rupees," and it has attached assets worth Rs 238 crore till now and also filed a chargesheet in April 2024.