The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha following raids conducted as part of its investigation into alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and staff for schools in West Bengal. Saha was taken into custody from his residence in the Murshidabad district on Monday.
According to official sources, during the raids, the MLA attempted to escape by jumping from a wall and also threw his mobile phones into a drain behind his house. The phones were later recovered. Videos and photos from the scene showed a drenched Saha being led away by ED officials and accompanying CRPF personnel from a vegetated and cluttered area.
The MLA, who represents the Burwan Assembly segment, was arrested for non-cooperation with the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The raids also extended to some of his relatives and associates.
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Saha had been previously arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2023 for his alleged links to the "scam" but was later released. The ED's money laundering case is based on an FIR filed by the CBI. The CBI's investigation was initiated on the orders of the Calcutta High Court to probe alleged irregularities in the hiring of various school staff.
The ED has previously arrested several high-profile individuals in connection with this case, including former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee, and TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya, who was also the former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education. Chatterjee was suspended from the TMC after his arrest. The ED has filed a total of four charge sheets in this case so far.
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