New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Trinamool Congress MLA Zimban Saha from his residence in Murshidabad district of West Bengal in connection with the recruitment of alleged teachers. ED sources told TOI that Saha allegedly made dramatic arrests after trying to flee the boundary wall of his house and throw his mobile phone in a drain in Burvan. Video clips and chase images, in which Saha was caught with mud on her body after running in a nearby agricultural area.According to ED officials, raids were conducted on the basis of information about monetary transactions by a person from Birbham district associated with the alleged scam. The person was present with the central agency when the search began in Saha’s house and other properties, including his in -laws in Raghunathganj and his personal assistants in Birbham. Officials confirmed that both mobile phones thrown by the MLA were recovered from the water bodies and would be sent for forensic examination.The agency has accused Saha, their relatives and colleagues of involvement in money laundering related to irregularities in the recruitment of school education. An ED official said, “As the MLA came to know about the raid, he tried to run away from his house by scaling the boundary wall. The MLA was chased and caught in an agricultural sector by our officials and central forces.” Officials said Saha would be produced before a special court, where his custody would be sought for further inquiries.Saha first faced action in April 2023, when he was arrested by the CBI on alleged irregularities in the same recruitment process, but was later released on bail. The current ED case is based on an FIR registered by the CBI, directed by the Calcutta High Court, in which the recruitment scam of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ Staff, Assistant Teachers and Primary Teachers and Primary Teachers of Class 9 to 12 was investigated.The case has already arrested several high-profile data, including former state education minister Partha Chatterjee, his colleague Arpita Mukherjee and TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya. The ED has so far filed four charge sheets regarding the alleged scam.
