Kolkata, May 12 (IANS) A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in Kolkata on Tuesday remanded former West Bengal Fire Services Minister Sujit Bose, who served in the previous Trinamool Congress regime, to Enforcement Directorate custody till May 21.
He was arrested by Enforcement Directorate officials on Monday night in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-municipalities jobs case in West Bengal during the previous regime, after over 10 hours of questioning at the Enforcement Directorate’s Salt Lake office in the northern outskirts of Kolkata.
On Tuesday afternoon, he was presented before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Kolkata by the investigating officials.
After hearing both sides, the judge remanded Bose to Enforcement Directorate custody till May 21.
Bose’s counsel moved a bail petition on behalf of his client and argued that since the documents on the basis of which the Enforcement Directorate arrested his client had been available with the investigating officers between 2022 and 2023, it was questionable how Bose could be arrested in 2026 based on documents that surfaced three to four years earlier.
The Enforcement Directorate counsel, however, opposed the bail plea, expressing apprehension that granting bail to Bose, an influential politician, might pose a risk of tampering with evidence and influencing witnesses in the case.
After hearing both sides, the judge of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court accepted the arguments of the Enforcement Directorate counsel and remanded Bose to Enforcement Directorate custody till May 21.
Bose, a three-time Trinamool Congress legislator from Bidhannagar Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district, was defeated this time.
Enforcement Directorate officials had first received information about the multi-crore municipalities’ job case while conducting raids and search operations at the residence of Trinamool Congress-linked promoter Ayan Shil in connection with another money laundering case related to the cash-for-school jobs scam in West Bengal.
Later, the Central Bureau of Investigation also started a parallel probe into the municipalities’ job case following an order of the Calcutta High Court.
As officials of the two central agencies progressed further with the investigation, the names of several politically influential persons, including state ministers and ruling party leaders, surfaced.
–IANS
src/dan
