TMC MLA attempts escape during ED raid, arrested in SSC scam probe

In a dramatic turn of events, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha on Monday attempted to escape during an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on his premises in West Bengal, but was caught after scaling a boundary wall.

Officials said the raid was being conducted in connection with the alleged teachers’ recruitment scam under the School Service Commission (SSC).

“As the raid progressed, Saha tried to evade the agency team by jumping from the first floor of his residence and attempting to flee. He was, however, intercepted by ED officials outside the premises,” a senior ED official in Delhi told The Tribune.

According to investigators, the legislator also threw his mobile phone into a drain in an attempt to destroy evidence, but it was later recovered by ED sleuths. He was subsequently placed under arrest.

The ED’s money laundering probe is based on an FIR registered by the CBI, which was directed by the Calcutta High Court to investigate large-scale irregularities in the recruitment of Group C and D staff, as well as assistant and primary teachers across government schools in West Bengal.

Agency sources said simultaneous searches were also carried out at the residences of Saha’s relatives and close associates. The MLA had earlier been arrested by the CBI in 2023 for his alleged role in the scam and was later released on bail.

While the CBI is investigating the criminal conspiracy behind the recruitment racket, the ED is probing the laundering of the alleged proceeds of crime linked to the scam.