TThe Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 11 arrested former West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress leader Sujit Bose in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged local government recruitment scam in the state, officials said, according to news agency PTI.
The Central Investigation Agency has taken Sujit Bose, 63, into custody under the provisions of the Act Money Laundering Prevention Act (PMLA) after his day-long interrogation at his CGO Complex office in Salt Lake, Kolkata, officials said.
Read also | What is Lakshmir Bhandar Scheme? The TMC flagship will continue in West Bengal
This was the first major arrest of a TMC leader since the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government took charge of the state administration last week.
People also ask
Artificial intelligence reinforced the insights from this story
•5 QUESTIONS
Sujit Bose is a former West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress leader. He was arrested by the Law Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged municipal recruitment scam.
The alleged scam involves irregularities in the recruitment of various posts in Dakshin Dum Dum Municipality. Sujit Bose is suspected of playing a direct role in securing jobs in exchange for monetary benefits, with proceeds of crime traced to the flats he acquired.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Sujit Bose under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after questioning. They are demanding his remand for detailed questioning regarding the alleged recruitment scam.
Sujit Bose is a three-time MLA from Bidhannagar and former Fire Services Minister. He joined the TMC in 2001 and is considered a TMC heavyweight in Kolkata, known for organizing the Sreebhumi Sporting Club Durga Puja.
The money laundering probe stems from a CBI FIR filed on the orders of the Calcutta High Court. The ED raided his premises in October 2025 and his premises were searched twice last year.
Officials in a PTI report said Bose was “evasive” in his answers, often “inconsistent” and that’s why he was arrested. Bose will be produced before a special PMLA court here today, May 12, where the ED will seek his custody for detailed interrogation, they said.
Bose, a former fire service minister, was questioned in connection with recruitment irregularities Dakshin Dum Dum Villagewhich allegedly served as the venue for one of the biggest civic body recruitment scams in the state where he previously served as vice chairman.
Who is Sujit Bose?
Sujit Bose, a three-time sitting MLA from Bidhannagar, lost the recent assembly elections against BJP’s Sharadwat Mukherjee by a margin of over 37,000 votes.
Bose started out as a leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPI(M). He became a close associate of Communist veteran and former minister Subhash Chakraborty. At the end of the 1990s, however, the two paths diverged. Bose joined the TMC in 2001 and five years later contested his first parliamentary election against Chakraborty from Belgium East. Bose lost to his former mentor.
However, Chakraborty died in 2009. Bose contested the subsequent by-poll against the wife of CPI(M) veteran Ramala. Bose won and entered the lineup for the first time. He won two subsequent elections and was also appointed as a minister.
Known as a TMC heavyweight in Kolkata, Bose was particularly instrumental in organizing one of the city’s biggest Durga Pujas at Sreebhumi Sporting Club in the Lake Town area.
What is alleged fraud?
The Bengal civil fraud probe is into alleged irregularities in the recruitment of labourers, sweepers, clerks, peons, ambulance attendants, pumps, helpers, sanitary assistants and drivers etc. in several municipalities in the state, including South Dum Dum.
Read also | ‘Absolutely not’: CPI(M), Congress on Mamata’s call to join forces against BJP
Bose is suspected to have played a direct role in providing jobs to about 150 employees across various categories in the municipality, recommending them for positions in lieu of monetary benefits.
The agency claimed to have traced “proceeds of crime” in the form of flats he obtained in exchange for providing jobs in the village to various individuals.
The ED also traced cash deposits in bank accounts “under the control” of Bose, according to ED officials.
Confronted with statements of earlier arrested fraud suspects, bank transactions and other documents, Bose was unable to come up with satisfactory answers, sources told PTI.
ED raided his premises in October 2025.
Businesses owned by Bose and his son were raided twice last year – with the exception of former food and civil supplies minister Rathin Ghosh, who was re-elected from the neighboring Madhyamgram assembly – and investigators claimed to have recovered “incriminating” documents during the raids.
Read also | ED opposes Jacqueline’s plea to become approver in ₹200 crore money laundering case
The money laundering investigation comes from a CBI FIR filed on the instructions of the Calcutta High Court. The agency issued several subpoenas for questioning Bose while the election campaign was underway.
He then sought an exemption from the appearance in the Calcutta High Court citing election campaign commitments.
Bose was “evasive”, often “inconsistent” in his answers and was therefore arrested.
After inquiries, Bose appeared before ED investigators at CGO Complex on May 1.
