Kolkata: West Bengal correctional services minister Chandranath Sinha surrendered before a court in Kolkata on Saturday in connection with the multi-crore recruitment case in the state.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought custody of Sinha for seven days. The court, however, granted him an interim bail on a personal bond, officials aware of the developments said.
This comes more than two weeks after a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had directed Sinha, who also holds the portfolio of micro, small and medium enterprises and textiles, to appear in person and surrender on September 12 in response to an Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons.
The federal agency had submitted a charge sheet against Sinha on August 6. The agency had also informed the designated court that it has got the governor’s nod to prosecute the minister.
Sinha, the legislator from Birbhum district’s Bolpur seat, is the second state cabinet minister to face prosecution in the bribe-for-job case after former education minister Partha Chatterjee, who was arrested in July 2022. He is currently in judicial custody.
ED had launched an investigation against Sinha under PMLA and had recovered ₹42 lakh from his Bolpur residence in March. The minister skipped two summons for questioning before facing the investigators on August 7, a day after the charge sheet was filed.
{{/usCountry}}ED had launched an investigation against Sinha under PMLA and had recovered ₹42 lakh from his Bolpur residence in March. The minister skipped two summons for questioning before facing the investigators on August 7, a day after the charge sheet was filed.
{{/usCountry}}“The court has directed that Sinha won’t be able to leave his assembly constituency or Kolkata for the time being. Also, he has to cooperate with the investigators,” an ED official told the media.
The investigation in this case started in May 2022 when the Calcutta high court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the appointments of non-teaching staff (Group C and D) and teaching staff by the SSC and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education between 2014 and 2021 when Partha Chatterjee was the education minister. The appointees allegedly paid bribes in the range of ₹5-15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests. ED started a parallel investigation at the same time.