Kolkata, Jan 2 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized assets worth Rs 3.60 crore owned by West Bengal Minister incharge of micro, small and medium enterprises and textiles department, Chandranath Sinha, in connection with his alleged involvement in the cash-for-school job case in the state.
Sources aware of the development said that a total of 10 properties owned by the minister, his wife, and his son had been confiscated by the ED, and the total market value of the properties is around Rs 3.60 crore.
“The valuation has been fixed based on the price prevailing when these properties were registered. However, the current market price of these properties is almost double of what it was at the time of registration. If the minister is unable to give definite proof of the source of funds for purchasing these properties, then the same will be put on auction,” said an insider from ED.
Sinha, also the West Bengal correctional services department minister, had already been named as an accused in the chargesheet filed by the ED in the school job case. The main charge against him was that he had collected a sum of Rs 12.75 crore from different ineligible candidates, promising them jobs of primary teachers in state-run schools of West Bengal.
In the chargesheet, the ED had also claimed that the minister recommended a total of 159 ineligible candidates for jobs of primary teachers, and on average, he collected Rs 8,00,000 from each of these candidates.
“There is a need for further questioning of the minister in the matter, and hence there is a need to take him into custody,” the central agency insider said.
To recall, West Bengal Governor, C.V. Ananda Bose, had approved the ED’s chargesheet against Sinha in August last year.
The ED officials first secured the name of the Minister from the diary of the middleman and now suspended Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, who was later arrested by the central agency officials.
In March 2024, the ED officials conducted a raid and search operations at the minister's residence at Bolpur in Birbhum district.
After the raid, the ED officials seized cash worth Rs 41 lakh and a mobile phone from Sinha's residence.
Sinha is known to be close to Trinamool Congress strongman and former Trinamool Congress district president in Birbhum, Anubrata Mondal.
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