- ED intensifies probes in West Bengal targeting scams in recruitment, land, and PDS wheat diversion
- Senior officials, ministers, and police summoned for alleged involvement in multiple corruption cases
- Several raids expose hawala networks linked to political and corporate entities
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its offensive against corruption in West Bengal, launching a series of high-profile searches and property seizures linked to multiple scams, including recruitment fraud, land grabbing, and PDS wheat diversion.
In a whirlwind of activity throughout late March and early April 2026, the federal agency has targeted political heavyweights, senior police officials, and corporate entities, uncovering a vast network of hawala transactions and "proceeds of crime."
High-Profile Summons: Ministers And Top Cops Under Scanner
The agency's lens has turned sharply toward high-ranking officials. The anti-money laundering agency took action against senior officials allegedly linked to several scams. Here's a list of scams under which action was taken.
Medical Recruitment Scam
Santanu Sinha Biswas, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch, Kolkata), is under the scanner for the alleged admission of his son into a private medical college under a fraudulent NRI quota. Despite moving the High Court to challenge the summons, the ED has issued fresh orders for his appearance, noting there is no stay on the investigation.
Municipal Recruitment Scam
State Ministers Sujit Bose and Rathin Ghosh have been summoned twice but have not yet appeared before the investigators.
Sona Pappu Case
Joint Commissioner of Police (Howrah) Gaurav Lal has been summoned to appear on April 13th regarding his alleged links to the "Sona Pappu" criminal syndicate.
Partha Chatterjee and the SSC Scam
On April 11, 2026, the ED conducted fresh raids at the residence of former minister Partha Chatterjee and the office of Prasanna Kumar Roy. Chatterjee, currently out on conditional bail in the Primary Teachers Recruitment Scam, allegedly defied three previous summons. The agency is now probing his links to broader irregularities in SSC Group C and D staff recruitment.
The IPAC Connection
On April 2nd, the ED conducted a massive pan-India operation at 11 premises linked to IPAC (Indian Political Action Committee). Searches in Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru yielded "incriminating materials" related to domestic and international Hawala networks. The agency is scrutinising the financial trails of IPAC directors and linked shell companies.
Land Grabbing and Real Estate Forgery
The real estate sector in Kolkata has come under heavy scrutiny:
Amit Ganguly Case: On March 28, raids at seven locations exposed a "systematic modus operandi" of land grabbing through forged powers of attorney. The probe revealed links between habitual offender Amit Ganguly and Om Prakash Jalan, who is allegedly connected to MLA Debasish Kumar.
Merlin Projects Limited: On April 8, the ED raided premises belonging to Sushil and Saket Mohta of the Merlin Group. The group is accused of fabricating documents to grab public land for large-scale real estate projects.
PDS Wheat Diversion and Coal Syndicates
PDS Scam On April 10, searches at 17 premises linked to Niranjan Chandra Saha revealed a "deep-rooted conspiracy" to divert welfare-scheme wheat. Accused parties allegedly removed FCI markings from gunny bags to pass off government wheat as private stock for export.
Illegal Coal Mining
The ED filed a prosecution complaint on April 9 against an organised syndicate, including Chinmoy Mondal and Kiran Khan. The syndicate allegedly extorted over Rs 650 Crore in "Gunda Tax" (GT) from coal transporters over the last five years.
Massive Financial Seizures
The ED has moved to freeze the assets of those allegedly profiting from these crimes:
South Point Education Society: Properties worth Rs 18.50 Crore belonging to Krishna Damani were attached. Damani is accused of siphoning school funds through fake invoices and "ghost" employee salaries.
Customs Smuggling
The agency attached assets worth Rs 48 Lakh belonging to suspended Deputy Commissioner of Customs Navneet Kumar. Kumar is accused of facilitating the smuggling of goods worth Rs 194 crore by manipulating "Manual Out of Charge" orders.
The Enforcement Directorate has seized cash worth Rs 1.78 Crore in the Sona Pappu & PDS cases, assets worth Rs 650 crore in the coal syndicate extortion case, Rs 85 crore in medical scam attachments and Rs 18.50 crore in the education fund siphoning case.
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