Rathin Ghosh, the former Food and Supplies Minister in the previous Mamata Banerjee-led state government, finally showed up at the Enforcement Directorate’s Salt Lake office in Kolkata after evading summons related to a multi-crore municipalities’ recruitment case in West Bengal. Despite Trinamool Congress’s defeat in the recent West Bengal Assembly polls, Ghosh secured re-election from his native Madhyamgram constituency for the fourth consecutive term. He arrived at the ED office around 11 a.m. and expressed unawareness of the reason behind the summons before facing interrogation.
The Enforcement Directorate had previously issued multiple notices to Ghosh for questioning before the Assembly elections, which he had disregarded citing election-related commitments. However, he eventually appeared at the central agency’s office on Friday morning. In a related development, Sujit Bose, the former fire services minister in the previous state cabinet, was recently arrested by ED in connection with the same recruitment case. Bose was remanded to ED custody till May 21 after a 10-hour interrogation at the Salt Lake office.
The fate of Ghosh remains uncertain as ED continues its investigation into the municipalities’ job case, which came to light during a raid at a Trinamool Congress-linked promoter’s residence. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also initiated a parallel probe into the matter following a Calcutta High Court order. The investigation has revealed the involvement of several politically influential individuals, including state ministers and ruling party leaders.
