Mamata Banerjee slammed the ED after raids in the fake government jobs scam, alleging political misuse and interference. Visiting an I-PAC leader’s residence, she accused the agency of seizing TMC documents and questioned Amit Shah’s role during searches nationwide.
WEST BENGAL: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee strongly criticised the Enforcement Directorate over raids linked to the fake government jobs scam, alleging political targeting. After visiting an I-PAC leader’s residence, she claimed party documents were seized and questioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s involvement in the searches.
The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches in multiple states related to a fraudulent government job scam operated by an organized gang.
The searches took place at 15 locations, including Muzaffarpur and Motihari in Bihar, Kolkata in West Bengal, Ernakulam, Pandalam, Adoor, and Kodur in Kerala, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Rajkot in Gujarat, and Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.
Background of the Case
The scam first came to light under the guise of Indian Railways, however, the investigation has uncovered that the network extended across more than 40 government organizations and departments.
These include the Forest Department, Railway Recruitment Board, Indian Post, Income Tax Department, High Court, Public Works Department (PWD), the Bihar government, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), and the Rajasthan Secretariat.
Investigators indicated that the gang utilized fake email accounts that mimicked official government domains to distribute counterfeit joining letters.
To gain the trust of their victims, some individuals were even paid salaries for two to three months and were falsely listed as being appointed to positions such as RPF personnel, Ticket Checkers (TTEs), and technicians in Indian Railways.
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An official Stated that,
“While the scam was initially detected in the name of Indian Railways, the investigation revealed that it covers over 40 other government organizations and departments, including Forest, Railway, Indian Post, Income Tax, High Court, Public Works Department, Bihar government, Delhi Development Authority, Rajasthan Secretariat, and others,”
During the raid in West Bengal, The Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the home of Prateek Jain, the chief of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), where Enforcement Directorate (ED) teams were present.
These searches prompted a strong political backlash from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which accused the central agency of operating under the influence of the Union government.
Banerjee, addressing reporters, claimed there was a misuse of central agencies for political ends and specifically criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying,
“Is it the duty of the ED, Amit Shah, to collect the party’s hard disk, candidate list?” She described Shah as “the nasty, naughty home minister who cannot protect the country”
She raised concerns about the ED seizing her party’s documents.
She added,
“What will be the result if I raid the BJP party office?”
Furthermore, Banerjee connected the ED’s actions to the upcoming elections in the state.
She said,
“On one side, they are deleting the names of voters by carrying out the SIR in West Bengal. Because of the elections, they are collecting all the information about my party.”
She labeled the raids as “unfortunate,” specifically mentioning that it was regrettable for the ED to target the TMC’s IT head. Banerjee questioned the Union government’s role by asking,
“Is this the job of the Union home minister to raid homes of IT chiefs of political parties? This is not law enforcement; it is political vendetta.”
Meanwhile, the ED asserted that these searches were part of an ongoing investigation into a fake job scam and were being carried out based on tangible evidence.
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