What’s Next for Bengal Minister Chandranath Sinha in the ED Investigation?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Chandranath Sinha appeared again before the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
- He is involved in the primary teachers recruitment investigation.
- He was granted interim bail with restrictions.
- The Governor approved a charge sheet against him.
- Sinha has ties to the Trinamool Congress.
Kolkata, Oct 22 (NationPress) West Bengal Minister Chandranath Sinha once again appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the primary teachers recruitment scandal.
He attended the ED's office located at CGO Complex in Kolkata's Salt Lake area after receiving a summons from the central investigative body.
This is not the first time he has faced questioning; the ED has interrogated him on two prior occasions.
On September 6, Sinha turned himself in to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court as part of the ED’s inquiry into alleged irregularities in the recruitment process for primary schools.
Although the ED requested his custody, the court granted him interim bail on a personal bond of ₹10,000, subject to certain conditions.
The court stipulated that while bail was granted, Sinha was prohibited from leaving his Assembly constituency or the city of Kolkata.
In August, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose approved the charge sheet submitted against Sinha in the recruitment case. This charge sheet was accepted by a special court under the PMLA in Kolkata, following the governor's endorsement.
The court instructed that Chandranath Sinha be summoned by the central investigation agency within a 15-day timeframe, leading to his surrender before the court on September 6.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a charge sheet against him on August 6 in a special PMLA court in the city.
Sinha is the second Minister from the Bengal government to face a charge sheet in this matter, the first being former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee.
A two-time Trinamool MLA from the Bolpur Assembly constituency in Birbhum district, Sinha has previously dodged appearing before the ED officers.
ED officials initially identified him from the diary of a middleman and now-suspended Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, who was subsequently arrested by the agency.
In March of the previous year, the ED conducted raids at the Minister's residence in Bolpur, where they seized cash amounting to ₹41 lakh and a mobile phone.
Sinha is known to maintain close ties with Trinamool Congress strongman and former district president in Birbhum, Anubrata Mondal.