ED arrests MLA in school jobs scam; TMC alleges vendetta as BJP slams ruling party over graft

Kolkata, Aug 25 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested TMC legislator Jiban Krishna Saha after a dramatic raid at his residence in West Bengal's Murshidabad district in connection with the multi-crore school jobs scam, triggering a fresh political slugfest ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.

Saha was later brought to Kolkata and produced at Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) special court, which sent him to a six-day ED remand till August 30.

According to officials, the Burwan MLA allegedly tried to escape by scaling a boundary wall and was caught in a nearby agricultural field.

The drenched leader, mud sticking to his clothes, was seen in viral videos being escorted away by ED and CRPF personnel from a garbage-strewn patch of land.

Investigators claimed that in a desperate bid to destroy evidence, Saha flung two of his mobile phones into a pond behind his house.

"As the legislator came to know about the raids, he tried to flee his house by scaling the boundary wall of the premises. He was chased and caught by our officers and central forces in an agricultural field. He was caught with mud on his body," an ED officer said.

The agency is also conducting searches at the residence of his personal assistant in Birbhum district, he said.

"Our officers have recovered both the mobile phones from the pond. Both devices will be sent for forensic examination. The MLA is being interrogated," he said, adding that raids were also simultaneously carried out at the residences of his relatives in Raghunathganj.

The MLA was arrested under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged non-cooperation.

"We had sought his custody for six days. The court granted it," the ED lawyer said.

In April 2023, the CBI had arrested him in the same case and later released him on bail.

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-TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya.

The fresh arrest sharpened the political war of words in West Bengal, with the TMC alleging vendetta politics ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, while the BJP claimed that the arrests prove that the ruling party and corruption are "two sides of the same coin".

"@BJP4India runs on an E2 policy! The first 'E', the @ECISVEEP is used as a weapon to strip citizens of their voting rights. If that fails, the second 'E', the @dir_ed, is unleashed as a political weapon.

“As exposed by our Parliamentary Party Leader Shri @abhishekaitc, the 130th Constitutional Amendment Bill is not aimed at fighting corruption. Its sole purpose is to crush the Opposition. This is dictatorship in disguise," the party said in a post on X.

Senior TMC leader Jaiprakash Majumdar alleged the ED was acting at the BJP's behest.

"He was earlier arrested and kept in custody for months, but nothing was proved. Again, ahead of the elections, ED has arrested him. This is nothing but vendetta politics," he said.

The BJP countered with equal force, insisting that the arrests only reinforced what aspirants denied jobs under the scam had long been claiming.

"TMC and the SSC scam are synonymous. Why should those who looted the future of students not be arrested? The party and corruption are two sides of the same coin," state BJP general secretary Jagganath Chattopadhyay said.

The SSC scam, which has already seen high-profile arrests, continues to cast a shadow over Bengal's political landscape with the opposition determined to keep it alive as a poll issue, and the ruling party portraying the arrests as part of a larger political conspiracy. PTI NES SCH PNT NSD BDC MNB PNT NN