ED summons TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, his parents in teachers' job scam case
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a summons for Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and MP Abhishek Banerjee to attend an inquiry related to the teachers' recruitment scam case on October 3.
This coincides with the day Banerjee was slated to lead a significant protest in Delhi, demanding Bengal's rightful funds from the Centre under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Expressing displeasure over the timing of the summons, the TMC leader wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Earlier this month, the ED summoned me on a day coinciding with an important coordinating meeting of #INDIA in Delhi. I dutifully appeared and complied with the served summons. Now, today yet again they have served me another summons to appear before them on a day when the protest agitation for West Bengal's rightful dues is scheduled in Delhi on 3rd Oct (sic)."
"This stark revelation unequivocally exposes those who are truly perturbED, rattlED and scarED!" Banerjee added.
Abhishek Banerjee faced questioning by the ED for nearly nine hours on September 13. He asserted that this inquiry was an attempt to hinder his participation in the opposition alliance INDIA meeting.
The ED has also summoned his mother Lata Banerjee on Oct 6 and his father Amit Banerjee on Oct 7 in connection with teachers' recruitment scam.
They are required to appear before the ED's investigating officer at the CGO complex in Kolkata in the upcoming week.
Amit and Lata Banerjee, his parents, serve as directors of Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd, which is presently under ED scrutiny. Established in 2012, the company operates in the Food and Beverages sector in Kolkata.
Abhishek Banerjee was a director in the company from April 2012 to January 2014 and is still listed as the CEO.
The ED has previously stated that numerous suspicious financial transactions were conducted through this company.
Apart from the Banerjees, the former COO of Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd, Sujay Krishna Bhadra, has also been arrested. Bhadra is known to have close ties with the Banerjee family, and his arrest has added further intensity to the investigation into the company's activities.