NEW DELHI: As the Trinamool Congress (TMC) reels under the trauma of its poll debacle, more trouble appears to be headed its way. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to question party seniors Sujit Bose and Rathin Ghosh — both ministers in the outgoing Mamata Banerjee government — on Wednesday in Kolkata in connection with its investigation into the municipality recruitment scam case.
Second Round of Questioning
This will be the second round of questioning for Bose — the fire minister who was defeated in his stronghold Bidhannagar — and Ghosh — the food minister who won from Madhyamgram. Both were directed by the court to join the probe. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's tenure was marked by a string of alleged scams, the one related to recruitment to municipalities stands out because of the money trail, ED sources said. The trail reaches precariously close to her nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee — Mamata's putative successor, widely referred to as the CM-in-waiting until the BJP landslide buried Trinamool Congress's ambition to prolong its stay.
Multiple Money Laundering Cases
Multiple money laundering cases being probed by the ED — including the political consultancy firm I-PAC in the coal smuggling scam — are set to return to Kolkata from Delhi. Probes were stalled as ED officials were being intimidated in Kolkata and many accused refused to cooperate despite repeated summons. Sources said the ED is also likely to resume questioning of the accused, including Abhishek Banerjee, his wife Rujira, former DGP Rajeev Kumar, former Kolkata police commissioner Manoj Verma, then DCP Priyabrata Roy, and I-PAC chief Pratik Jain. From Jain's premises, Mamata, in the presence of her police brass, took away files seized by the agency during a January 8 search operation.
Rujira Banerjee Under Scanner
Rujira Banerjee faces a probe into the alleged laundering of Rs 168 crore in proceeds of crime from the coal scam. The ED earlier claimed that part of this money was laundered abroad through hawala channels and deposited in bank accounts beneficially owned by her in Thailand and London.
New Probes Possible After Mamata's Defeat
Besides the cases it is already investigating, Mamata's defeat removes a big obstacle in launching new probes — the refusal of the Bengal government to register FIRs, denying the ED the basis of a predicate offence.
