KOLKATA: The ED on Friday raided the residences of West Bengal fire minister Sujit Bose, ruling Trinamool Congress MLA Tapas Roy and another party leader in connection with the alleged irregularities in civic body recruitments. ED officials came under attack when they had gone to raid the residence of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan at Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas in connection with ration scam on January 5.
The crackdown began at 7 am on Friday and it is still on. ED officers initially faced resistance while trying to enter Bose’s residence and gained access after about 40 minutes, sources said. “We are carrying a search warrant but even after showing it, we were initially not allowed to enter,” ED officer told PTI.
In a departure from the previous instances in the state, a substantial contingent of central police personnel cordoned off Bose’s residence and prevented any gathering of party supporters near it. The central forces were equipped with additional protective gear, including helmets and automatic guns. The ED sleuths searched two residences of Bose in Lake Town area of North 24-Parganas district. Searches were
also conducted at Roy’s B B Ganguly Street residence in central Kolkata and Subodh Chakraborty’s residence atBirati, also in North 24-Parganas.
Forces were dispatched to the residences of the three leaders by respective local police stations, too. They cordoned off the areas around the houses. The TMC has denounced the raids calling them as “vendetta politics and a desperate manoeuvre” by the BJP before the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP, however, dismissed the accusation, terming it “baseless”.