TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha Denied Bail in Kolkata School Recruitment Scam
In a major setback for Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata rejected his bail plea on Thursday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Saha earlier in connection with the massive School Service Commission recruitment scam, and now he’s back in judicial custody.
Saha, a TMC leader from Murshidabad, filed for bail during the hearing. But the ED pushed back hard, arguing that scam money flowed straight into his bank accounts—and even those of his family members. They warned the court that letting him out could mess up the ongoing investigation, especially since Saha holds a lot of influence in his area.
His lawyer fought back, insisting Saha had no role in any corruption and deserved bail right away. After listening to both sides, the judge wasn’t convinced and sent Saha to jail for now.
This isn’t Saha’s first brush with the law in this case. Last month, ED officials raided his home in Burwan, Murshidabad district. Saha tried to escape by climbing over a boundary wall and even tossed one of his two mobile phones into a bush. But the ED team caught him red-handed, recovered the phone, and grilled him about lakhs of rupees popping up in his relatives’ accounts. When he couldn’t explain, they slapped the cuffs on him.
Rewind to April 2023: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had already arrested Saha for the same School Service Commission scam. He spent 13 months behind bars before the Supreme Court granted him bail. Now, the ED is digging deeper into money laundering angles.
Court sources say ED told the judge that tainted funds from the scam landed in Saha’s accounts in small batches to avoid detection. The whole mess started with a CBI FIR, triggered by the Calcutta High Court’s order to probe irregularities in hiring for Group C and D staff, plus assistant teachers for classes 9-12 and primary teachers.
The ED has ramped up its crackdown, filing four charge sheets so far. They’ve nabbed big names like former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, his close aide Arpita Mukherjee, and ex-TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya. As the investigation heats up, more twists could be on the way in this high-profile corruption case shaking up Kolkata politics.
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