NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha from his residence in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district in connection with the alleged teachers’ recruitment scam. The dramatic arrest came after Saha allegedly attempted to flee by scaling the boundary wall of his house in Burwan and hurling his mobile phone into a drain, ED sources told TOI. Video clips and images of the chase, in which Saha was caught with mud on his body after running into a nearby agricultural field, have since surfaced. According to ED officials, the raids were carried out based on information about a monetary transaction by a man from Birbhum district linked to the alleged scam. The man was present with the central agency when the searches began at Saha’s home and other properties, including those of his in-laws in Raghunathganj and his personal assistant in Birbhum. Officers confirmed that both mobile phones thrown by the MLA were retrieved from water bodies and will be sent for forensic examination.The agency has accused Saha, his relatives, and associates of being involved in money laundering connected to irregularities in the hiring of schoolteachers. “As the legislator came to know about the raids, he tried to flee his house by scaling the boundary wall. The MLA was chased and caught by our officers and central forces in an agricultural field,” an ED officer told PTI. Officials added that Saha will be produced before a special court where his custody will be sought for further questioning.Saha had earlier faced action in April 2023, when he was arrested by the CBI over alleged irregularities in the same recruitment process but was later released on bail. The current ED case is based on an FIR registered by the CBI, which was directed by the Calcutta High Court to investigate the recruitment scam involving group ‘C’ and ‘D’ staff, assistant teachers of Classes 9 to 12, and primary teachers.The case has already led to the arrests of several high-profile figures, including former state education minister Partha Chatterjee, his aide Arpita Mukherjee, and TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya. The ED has filed four charge sheets in connection with the alleged scam so far.
