Former West Bengal fire services minister and senior TMC leader Sujit Bose was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday in connection with the municipal recruitment scam case, marking another major escalation in the long-running probe into irregularities in civic body appointments across the state.
The arrest came after nearly 10-and-a-half hours of questioning at the CGO Complex in Kolkata, where Bose appeared before investigators along with his son Samudra Bose and legal representatives. According to officials, the ED questioned him extensively over financial transactions, recruitment decisions and suspected irregularities linked to appointments made during the previous All India Trinamool Congress administration.
Investigators formally placed Bose under arrest late in the evening after hours of interrogation. This was his second appearance before the agency in the case, having earlier appeared on May 1 following an ED summons.
The timing of the arrest has added significant political weight to the development. Bose’s arrest coincided with the first Cabinet meeting of the newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party government in West Bengal, intensifying political reactions around the ongoing investigation.
Bose, who recently lost the Bidhannagar Assembly seat, is among several senior Trinamool Congress leaders who have come under the scanner in multiple recruitment-related investigations over the past few years. The municipal recruitment scam has emerged as one of the most politically sensitive corruption probes in West Bengal, with central agencies examining allegations of irregular appointments, financial misconduct and influence in civic body hiring processes.
Meanwhile, former minister and defeated Trinamool candidate Rathin Ghosh once again skipped an appearance before investigators in connection with the same case, further deepening the controversy surrounding the probe.
While the ED has not yet released a detailed statement outlining the specific charges against Bose, officials indicated that the investigation remains active and further questioning of multiple individuals linked to the case is expected in the coming days.
The arrest is likely to sharpen the political confrontation between the BJP-led state government and the TMC, especially as recruitment scams continue to dominate West Bengal’s political discourse.
