Kolkata, 25 August (H.S.):
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator Jiban Krishna Saha from Murshidabad district in connection with the multi-crore school jobs scam. The dramatic arrest — which involved an attempted escape and alleged destruction of evidence — has further intensified the political slugfest in West Bengal ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
According to ED officials, Saha tried to flee as soon as he learnt about the raids at his residence. He allegedly scaled the boundary wall of his house but was chased down and caught in a nearby agricultural field by central forces and ED officers. Covered in mud and drenched, the MLA was seen in widely circulated videos being escorted out by ED and CRPF personnel from a garbage-strewn patch of land.
Investigators further claimed that in a desperate attempt to destroy evidence, Saha threw two mobile phones into a pond behind his house. Both devices were later recovered and will be sent for forensic examination. Simultaneous searches were also carried out at the residences of his relatives in Raghunathganj and his personal assistant in Birbhum.
Saha has been arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged non-cooperation. Notably, he had earlier been arrested by the CBI in April 2023 in the same case and was later released on bail.
The case stems from a CBI FIR registered on the orders of the Calcutta High Court into alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Group C and D staff, assistant teachers of classes 9 to 12, and primary teachers. So far, the ED has filed four charge sheets in the case and arrested several key figures, including former state education minister Partha Chatterjee, his close aide Arpita Mukherjee, and former TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya.
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TMC alleges vendetta
Reacting sharply to the arrest, the TMC accused the BJP-led central government of political vendetta. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the party wrote:
“BJP runs on a two ‘E’ policy. The first ‘E’ is the EC (Election Commission), used to strip citizens of their voting rights. If that fails, the second ‘E’ — the ED — is unleashed to crush the Opposition. This is not a fight against corruption but dictatorship in disguise.”
Senior TMC leader Jaiprakash Majumdar echoed the charge, saying:
“Saha was arrested earlier and kept in custody for months, but nothing was proved. Now, once again on the eve of elections, ED has arrested him. This is nothing but vendetta politics.”
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BJP’s counterattack
The BJP dismissed the allegations, insisting that the arrests only underline what students and job aspirants have long been saying.
State BJP general secretary Jagannath Chattopadhyay remarked:
“TMC and the SSC scam are synonymous. Why should those who looted the future of students not be arrested? The party and corruption are two sides of the same coin.”
Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
