The Calcutta High Court today directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) not to take any coercive action against Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at this stage of investigation in connection with the school job scam. The Trinamool Congress welcomed the decision and said the order vindicated its oft-repeated charge that the Central agencies have been hounding and harassing Banerjee and its other leaders for political reasons.
A single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh had earlier reserved orders in Banerjee’s plea against the ongoing proceedings against him in the case being investigated by the CBI and ED under the monitoring of the High Court. During the pendency of the quashing plea, the ED had raided a company named Leaps & Bounds and had insinuated that large sums of money linked with the recruitment-scam were being funnelled through the company in which Banerjee was the CEO. Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, however, did not quash the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR, filed by the ED which had references to Banerjee. The Court pointed out that ED can continue with the investigation and if required could summon the Trinamool leader, but no coercive steps can be taken against Banerjee on the basis of the ECIR.
The ED had filed an ECIR after the arrest and subsequent interrogation of Sujay Krishna Bhadra alias “Kalighater Kaku (Uncle from Kalighat)” in July this year. The ECIR mentions that Bhadra looked after the finance-related matters of Banerjee and was very close to him. ED had arrested Bhadra in connection with the scam in May this year. On September 13, Banerjee was questioned for about nine hours in the scam.
The Trinamool Congress welcomed the interim relief to Banerjee. “The court has restrained ED from harassing Abhishek further. He is helping in the probe and we know he will continue to assist the investigators,” Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said. Ghosh added that the order shows the Central agencies have been hounding and harassing Mr. Banerjee. The leaders of Opposition pointed out that the Court has not cancelled the ECIR.