2 min readKolkataUpdated: May 13, 2026 05:24 AM IST
A city court on Tuesday remanded former West Bengal minister Sujit Bose to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till May 21 in connection with the alleged irregularities in municipal recruitment. The ED on Tuesday had sought Bose’s 10-day custody, alleging a massive money-laundering operation where illegal funds from the municipal recruitment scam were “channelled” through personal bank accounts and closed business establishments.
Bose, the former Bidhannagar MLA who lost his seat to BJP’s Dr Sharadwat Mukherjee in the Assembly elections, was arrested late Monday night after over 10 hours of interrogation at the CGO Complex.
The ED argued Bose’s business ventures, including a Chinese restaurant and the popular ‘Bengal Dhaba’ recorded sales worth Rs 1.11 crore during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a period when the establishments were officially shut and staff had left.
It alleged that approximately Rs 2.2 crore was moved into Bose’s personal account while the dhaba was non-operational.
Investigators claimed that these “mysterious” transactions, involving shell companies such as Swabhumi Projects Private Limited, were used to launder bribe money into land investments and other assets. The agency cited digital data recovered from middleman Ayan Sil, whose firm, ABS Infozon Pvt Ltd, allegedly controlled the entire recruitment process, from printing question papers to evaluating OMR sheets.
The agency also alleged that while serving as the vice-chairman of South Dum Dum municipality (2010–2021), Bose recommended approximately 150 candidates for jobs in exchange for financial benefits. These posts included labourers, sweepers, clerks, and ambulance attendants.
Arguing for custody, ED counsel noted that Bose had skipped three previous summonses and moved the High Court to stall the probe. “As an influential figure, he is likely to tamper with evidence or alert other co-conspirators if released. He has been non-cooperative and is providing inaccurate answers regarding the source of deposits found in his family’s accounts,” ED stated.
