SSC recruitment corruption case: Trinamool Councillor Maya Saha appears before ED

Kolkata, Aug 28 (IANS) Trinamool Congress councillor Maya Saha on Thursday appeared before Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers in the CGO Complex office in Kolkata's Salt Lake area in connection with the School Service Commission (SSC) teachers recruitment case.

Maya Saha is the aunt of the arrested Trinamool MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, and was summoned by the agency in the case.

She, however, claimed that she was not involved in the SSC recruitment corruption. Before entering the CGO Complex office, Maya Saha said, "The money from corruption is not in my bank account. I am not involved. Today I brought documents related to my house and land. This house is in my and my husband's name."

Sources in the ED said her statement will be recorded, and if needed, then she will be questioned face-to-face with her nephew, Jiban Krishna Saha. The ED officers could open the Jiban's mobile phone that they had seized on Monday and look at it in front of her. The ED asked her to bring several documents, bank statements and property deeds.

According to sources, ED officials have claimed in court that money from the scam was deposited in the bank account of Jiban Krishna Saha in parts. In three years from 2019 to 2021, Rs 50 lakh was deposited in the bank accounts of Saha and his wife in parts, sources said.

According to the central agency sources, a total of eight bank accounts have been found in the name of Jiban Krishna Saha, from where money was withdrawn and transferred.

The ED claimed that a total of Rs 46 lakh worth of transactions have been detected. Of this, Rs 26 lakh went to the MLA's wife, Tagori Saha's account and the remaining Rs 20 lakh was sent by Jiban Krishna to his father's account. It is learnt that the arrested MLA's wife is a teacher by profession.

On Wednesday, ED summoned Maya Saha to appear before its officers in connection with the corruption case.

ED arrested the Trinamool MLA from his house in Burwan in Murshidabad district on August 25. The MLA tried to flee his house by scaling a boundary wall and also threw one of his two mobile phones in a bush. However, he was stopped from escaping by ED officials who also recovered the mobile phone. After he failed to answer questions to ED officials regarding lakhs of rupees found in the bank accounts of his relatives, he was arrested. He was sent to a six-day ED remand by the Kolkata Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court.

On that day, the ED officers also conducted raids at the residences of Saha's relatives, including his aunt and Sainthia Municipality Trinamool councillor Maya Saha. Sleuths have also traced properties which were procured in the name of his driver.

Sources said a huge amount of money was transferred to the bank accounts of the Trinamool MLA's relatives. In connection with that, his aunt was summoned by the sleuths for questioning.

The ED's 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. The central agency has so far filed four charge sheets and arrested several key figures, including former state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, his alleged aide Arpita Mukherjee and ex-Trinamool MLA Manik Bhattacharya.

--IANS

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