Trinamul MP Abhishek Banerjee Appears Before ED in School Jobs Scam Case

Abhishek Banerjee, the MP and general secretary of Trinamul, was called in by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday for a series of interrogations related to the ED's continuing investigation into anomalies in appointments at state-aided schools.

Abhishek had already been called in twice by the central investigative agency in October.

According to Trinamul officials, the summons was received this time on Tuesday, the day the Trinamul MP from Diamond Harbour was celebrating his birthday.

One of the party spokespersons, Sashi Panja, said, "He will meet the investigators on Thursday and answer their questions as a responsible MP and as the national general secretary of the party."

"This is a witch hunt of sorts, harassment meant to divert attention from getting ready for the next Lok Sabha elections. This is an attempt to discredit the party, since Abhishek is also a member of the "INDIA" coalition, according to minister Panja.

Abhishek last met with ED authorities over the investigation on September 13, at the first-ever meeting of the Opposition bloc of INDIA's coordination committee in the country's capital.

A portion of the opposition wondered if the summons was sent out on purpose to keep the opposition parties from uniting because of the time.

Then, committee member Abhishek put the following on his X-handle:

"It's impossible not to be impressed by the cowardice and hollowness of the 56-inch chest model," the statement said, subtly criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Abhishek was summoned by the ED again on October 3, the day the Trinamul second-in-command was supposed to lead a group of party officials and workers from Bengal in New Delhi.

After ignoring the first summons, Abhishek received a second one instructing him to appear before the central agency investigators on October 9.

Senior ED officials said that they intended to examine Abhishek over the purported anomalies in recruitments after the admission by one of the accused, Sujay Bhadra, alias Kalighater Kaku, who is now detained in court, that he was employed by the Trinamul second-in-command.

Bhadra was the chief operating officer (COO) of Leaps and Bounds Private Limited, a business whose CEO is reportedly Abhishek, according to prior statements made by the central investigative agency.

On Mallick, ED

Jyoti Priya Mallick, the minister of food and supplies for Bengal for ten years until 2021, was officially arrested on Tuesday, according to a formal release from the ED. The release stated that roughly thirty percent of PDS rations meant for Priority Households (PHH), RSKY, and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries were diverted to the open market, and the proceeds of crime generated from the same were shared between the millers and the PDS distributors.

On October 27, just before dawn, Mallick was taken into custody from his Salt Lake residence after many hours of questioning over alleged anomalies in the public distribution system (PDS) and the money trail.

Following his incarceration, Mallick, the state minister for forests, has received support from Trinamul, including its leader and chief minister of Bengal, Mamata Banerjee.

For many years, Mallick managed the large and unstable North 24-Parganas district almost by himself. However, Abhishek Banerjee, the national general secretary of Trinamul, eventually shared out the region's organizational duties among a group of people who were mostly his supporters.