ED Summons TMC MLA; WB Minister Still in Custody: 10 Developments in SSC Case

The probe agency has asked him to depose at Kolkata's CGO Complex at noon on Wednesday, 27 July.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA and ex-president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education Manik Bhattacharya, on Tuesday, 26 July, in connection with the School Service Commission (SSC) case in the state.

The probe agency, which searched his residential premises on 22 July, has asked him to depose at Kolkata's CGO Complex on Wednesday noon.

This comes on the heels of Minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee, on Monday, being remanded to 10-day ED custody till 3 August.

Their premises were searched on 22 July too and the central agency had reportedly recovered Rs 21 crore from Mukherjee's home.

Here are the 10 developments in the case so far.

• West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee, who was brought back to Kolkata at 6:30 am on Tuesday after a thorough check-up at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar, was straightaway taken to the ED office at CGO Complex, reported news agency PTI.

• Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee appeared before a special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Monday, which remanded them to 10-day custody of the ED.

• They will be produced in court again on 3 August for further hearing. The court has also instructed that the both undergo a medical check-up every 48 hours.

• ED issued summons to TMC MLA from Nadia district Manik Bhattacharya. The central agency also said that it had already conducted search operations on Bhattacharya's residential premises on 22 July.

• Meanwhile, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday, demanding that she sack Chatterjee immediately.

• West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee on Tuesday demanded a time-bound probe into the SSC scam. "I think there should be a time-bound probe into the matter. It is unacceptable that the investigation would continue for years. I am hopeful that the truth would come out soon," he added.

• Bharatiya Janata Party MP Dilip Ghosh slammed the West Bengal government on Tuesday, claiming that they had won the 2021 Assembly polls to loot Rs 21 crore. "Did you garner votes for this? Will you loot Rs 21 crore by winning in 21 (2021 West Bengal assembly poll)? Who gave you that right?” he told news agency ANI.

• SSC job aspirants wrote a letter to CM Mamata Banerjee asking her to "take strict action against Chatterjee." “Ex-Education Minister Partha Chatterjee cannot evade responsibility of this corruption. Along with him, the Chairman of the Commission, Dipak Kar, and others placed in the position of power are all involved in these corrupt practices,” the letter said.

• The Calcutta High Court also instructed the ED to associate the 10 members of his bodyguard’s (Bushwambhar Mandal) family, who were also allegedly illegally provided jobs as primary teachers, to the ongoing case.

• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday, 25 July, said that she does not support corruption. "If proven to be true, then put the person behind bars even if it’s for life. People make mistakes. I know there are aspirants who are without a job, and I have formed a separate committee to solve that problem," she said.