KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday summoned TMC’s national general secretary and chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his parents to appear before the central agency’s Salt Lake office in connection with irregularities in recruitment in state-aided schools on October 3, around 10.30 am.
Banerjee said the day coincides with that of the party's protest rally in Delhi against the Centre's decision to withhold the state's dues under MGNREGA, which he is supposed to lead.
The ED, which questioned Abhishek on September 02, asked the TMC leader, his father Amit Banerjee, and mother Lata three days after a Kolkata High Court judge came down heavily on the central agency for its sloppy investigation into the Bengal recruitment scam and the tardy pace of the probe.
High Court Justice Amrita Sinha made no attempts to hide her dismay that Banerjee’s only asset disclosed in the report submitted to the central agency were life insurance policies.
“The list of assets as forwarded by the learned advocate representing Shri Abhishek Banerjee appears to be grossly incomplete. The asset of Shri Abhishek Banerjee who is a Member of Parliament and the CEO of Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd as disclosed in the letter forwarded to the Enforcement Directorate mentions only three insurance policies with Life Insurance Corporation of India. No further detail of the assets of the said CEO has been mentioned. A press release was made stating that the company has made dubious transactions and you don’t feel the need to enquire from its directors and members?” she lashed out during the course of the hearing.
The ED is investigating the possible involvement of Leaps and Bounds Private Limited, a company whose CEO is Abhishek and his parents as directors, in the state’s primary school teacher recruitment scam.
“We decided to question Abhishek’s parents as both of them are the directors of the Pvt Ltd company. We will mention the outcome of their interrogation in our report which will submitted before the court,” said an ED officer.
“Earlier this month, the ED summoned me on a day coinciding meeting of #INDIA in Delhi. I dutifully appeared and complied with the served summons. Now, today yet again they have served me another summons to appear before them on a day when the protest agitation for West Bengal’s rightful dues is scheduled in Delhi on 3rd Oct. This stark revelation unequivocally exposes those who are truly perturbED, rattlED, and scarED!” Abhishek tweeted shortly after receiving the summons.
The recruitment scam in schools already landed former education minister Partha Chatterjee and many other TMC functionaries behind bars.