Kolkata
A PMLA court in Kolkata on Saturday reserved its verdict on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea seeking custodial interrogation of West Bengal Minister Chandranath Sinha in the multi-crore cash-for-school-jobs scam. The court will pronounce its order on September 23, deciding whether Sinha’s interim bail will be extended or if he will be sent to ED custody.
During the hearing, ED counsel requested seven-day custody for the minister, citing charges framed against him in the central probe. The agency alleges fictitious financial transactions of Rs 12.73 crore in bank accounts linked to Sinha and his family. The ED also claims Sinha failed to justify large phased cash deposits and misreported income in tax declarations, as detailed in its sixth supplementary charge sheet filed earlier this month.
Sinha’s lawyer argued that the minister has been fully cooperating with the ED and would continue to do so, asserting that custodial interrogation was unnecessary.
On September 6, Sinha had surrendered before the same PMLA court and was granted interim bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000, subject to certain conditions. The sixth supplementary charge sheet submitted by ED highlights financial irregularities, including phased deposits totaling Rs 1.18 crore into a joint account held by Sinha and his wife, Kuntala Sinha, between January 2016 and November 2019. This period coincides with the peak of the alleged school recruitment scam.
The court’s forthcoming decision on September 23 will determine whether the minister will remain free on bail or be taken into ED custody for further questioning, marking a key stage in the ongoing investigation into the high-profile recruitment scam in West Bengal.