A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Tuesday remanded former Bengal fire services minister Sujit Bose to 10-day Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in connection with the alleged municipality recruitment scam. The ED alleged that Bose, who served as vice-chairperson of the South Dum Dum municipality between 2010 and 2021, played a key role in the illegal recruitment of at least 40 candidates in exchange for money.
Bose was arrested on Monday night after more than 10 hours of questioning and was produced before the special PMLA court following medical tests. Dressed in a white shirt, he sat in a corner as ED lawyer Dhiraj Trivedi began his arguments. The central investigating agency, which has conducted searches at Bose's Sreebhumi residence, shops, and office, maintained that it had evidence pointing to money stashed in his accounts. ED officials claimed to have uncovered nearly Rs 8 crore deposited in bank accounts linked to Bose's restaurants during the Covid period and before.
The ED said it had examined the bank accounts of a Chinese restaurant and a dhaba owned by Bose and found cash transactions and deposits into his accounts. "The hotels and restaurants were closed during the Covid period. How was he running the business and receiving money?" Trivedi argued. The agency also pointed to alleged discrepancies between cash entries and deposits in the accounts of the restaurants.
The case began after ED officials stumbled upon documents belonging to one Ayan Sil in connection with the school jobs-for-cash scam. Officers came across references to municipality jobs being offered to ineligible candidates in exchange for money. The ED had earlier questioned Nitai Datta, a close aide of Bose, in the case.
Bose's lawyer Ayan Bhattacharya argued that his client's last statement was recorded in November 2025 and no action was taken on it. "Every action of ED is subject to judicial review," he said. While Bose's lawyers pleaded for bail, the judge denied the request and sent him to ED custody until May 21.
Bose's son Samudra alleged that his father's name did not appear in the list of predicate offences. "ED has submitted its statement in court and the matter is sub judice. We have always cooperated with the investigation, and he went to the ED office on Monday. We live in a democratic country and we have complete faith in the judiciary. I have not yet received a copy of the court order; it would not be appropriate for me to make any comment," he said.
