In a significant development in the ongoing West Bengal school jobs scam investigation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Jiban Krishna Saha, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA from Burwan, for alleged non-cooperation during a raid at his residence.
The ED, probing money laundering linked to irregular appointments of teachers and staff in state-run schools, conducted extensive searches at Saha’s residence in Murshidabad district. The raid, which also targeted the MLA’s relatives and associates, resulted in his arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In a dramatic turn during the operation, Saha reportedly tried to escape by jumping over a wall and threw his mobile phones into a drain, sources said. The devices were recovered by ED officials.
Video footage from the scene showed a drenched and disoriented Saha being escorted by ED and CRPF personnel through an area littered with trash and overgrown vegetation.
This is not Saha’s first run-in with investigators. In 2023, he was arrested by the CBI for his alleged role in the same scam but was later released. The ED’s case is based on a CBI FIR filed after a Calcutta High Court directive to probe massive irregularities in the recruitment of Group C and D staff, assistant teachers (Classes 9–12), and primary teachers.
The teacher recruitment scam has already seen multiple high-profile arrests, including former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, his associate Arpita Mukherjee, TMC MLA and ex-education board president Manik Bhattacharya, among others. Chatterjee was suspended from the TMC following his arrest.
So far, the ED has filed four charge sheets in the case, and investigations are ongoing.
