Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Jiban Krishna Saha, Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator from Burwan in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, in connection with the teacher recruitment case.
People aware of the matter said that Saha tried to flee and dumped one of his mobile phones when ED officials reached his residence at Andi village in Burwan. He was, however, caught and both his mobile phones were seized
The federal agency conducted searches in multiple locations since Friday morning. The list includes residences of Saha’s in-laws in Murshidabad and his aunt Maya Saha, a TMC councillor in Birbhum district.
“Searches were conducted simultaneously in multiple locations. Saha was arrested after he refused to cooperate,” said an ED official.
Saha was brought to Kolkata and produced in the Bankshal court. The court sent him to ED’s custody for six days.
This is the second time that Saha has been arrested in connection with the multi-crore scam. He was earlier arrested in April 2023 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He was released on bail in May 2024.
When the ED team reached his house around 7.30 am he tried to flee by scaling the boundary wall and even threw his mobile away. He was caught by the central force personnel. The mobile was recovered from a drain.
Back in 2023, when the CBI raided his house, Saha allegedly threw his two mobile phones in an adjacent pond. The agency used pumps to drain out the water and hired an earth mover and labourers to search the pond. The mobile phones were later recovered.
{{/usCountry}}Back in 2023, when the CBI raided his house, Saha allegedly threw his two mobile phones in an adjacent pond. The agency used pumps to drain out the water and hired an earth mover and labourers to search the pond. The mobile phones were later recovered.
{{/usCountry}}Three TMC legislators including Partha Chatterjee, Manik Bhattacharya and Jiban Krishna Saha have so far been arrested in connection with the scam. Bhattacharya and Saha have been released on bail.
In May 2022 on the orders of the Calcutta high court, the CBI started a probe into the scam wherein appointments in state-run schools were allegedly made for monetary gains. Later the ED started a parallel probe to unearth the monetary trail.
The appointees allegedly paid bribes in the range of ₹5-15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests.
TMC MP and the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira have also been questioned by CBI and ED in connection with the same case.
Last week a Kolkata-court ordered ED to summon Chandranath Sinha, state correctional services minister, to the court on September 12 so that charges filed against him can be read out before the trial.
Sinha is the second state cabinet minister to face prosecution in the bribe-for-job case after former education minister Partha Chatterjee.
With the state assembly elections scheduled to be held in 2026, the arrest of the TMC leader has once again triggered a political slugfest in the state.
“Saha was an agent of the top TMC leaders involved in the scam. He is desperate. Last time his mobile phone fell into a pond. This time it didn’t reach the pond,” Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA and leader of the Opposition in the state legislative assembly, told media persons.
“The federal agencies are becoming hyper-active as elections are drawing nearer. Don’t be surprised if ED, CBI, NIA and IT start raids in the state,” Arup Chakraborty, TMC spokesperson told the media.