ED arrests TMC leader and former West Bengal minister Sujit Bose for civic job scam

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday arrested Trinamool Congress leader Sujit Bose, who was a minister in the erstwhile government of Mamata Banerjee.

Bose was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he was questioned for 11 hours in connection with a municipal recruitment scam, sources said. He was a Minister of State (Independent) in the Department of Fire and Emergency Services of the Government of West Bengal during the erstwhile regime of the Trinamool Congress.

The 63-year-old TMC stalwart lost to Sharadwat Mukherjee of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the just-concluded assembly elections.

The ED was probing into the alleged role of Bose in the irregularities in the recruitment of nearly 150 employees in several municipalities. The premises of the three-time legislator were searched by the central agency in October 2025.

Bose was summoned by the ED for questioning even before the polling in his constituency on April 29, but he did not turn up, citing his busy schedule for the elections. He also moved the Calcutta High Court, which directed him to appear before the central agency after the polling.

He accordingly appeared before the ED for questioning on May 1, when he was quizzed by the officials of the central agency for almost nine hours.

Bose, accompanied by his lawyer and son, again went to the ED office at the CGO complex in Salt Lake for questioning on Monday.

He was arrested by the central agency after a marathon interrogation.

Bose was the first TMC heavyweight to be arrested by a central agency after the new Bharatiya Janata Party’s government took over in West Bengal, after defeating Mamata Banerjee’s party in the just-concluded elections.