The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday raided the Kolkata residences of senior West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim and TMC MLA Madan Mitra pertaining to the investigation into the alleged West Bengal Municipal recruitment scam.
The CBI searches led to a protest by TMC supporters outside his residence as probe agency’s officers reached his residence in south Kolkata’s Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces.
Firhad Hakim, who is currently the mayor of Kolkata, is the minister of urban development and municipal affairs while Mitra, a senior TMC leader is a former minister and the MLA of Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas district.
The searches at Hakim and Mitra’s residence come two days after the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at multiple locations, including the residence of Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh, in connection with the recruitment case.
Both Hakim and Mitra were arrested by the CBI in 2021 in the Narada sting operation case. Mitra was also arrested by the CBI in 2014 in the Saradha chit fund scam.
Reacting to CBI raids at her colleague’s residence, West Bengal Minister and TMC leader Shashi Panja said, “BJP cannot fight politically, so it has released its two puppets CBI and ED. Because the central government had to bow down in front of our protest, it sent its two toys CBI and ED. This is a game to malign. But we will continue to fight on the real issues. They will reach everyone who is against the BJP. Wherever there is no BJP government, these two toys are sent.”
Rejecting the allegations, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “If the TMC has nothing to hide, why are they afraid of ED and CBI?”
“Whenever TMC leaders are summoned by the ED or CBI, they cry foul and accuse the agencies of being politically motivated. Yet, the reality is that the TMC is deeply mired in corruption with nearly every leader facing some allegation or the other,” he claimed.
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