Kolkata, June 15: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday began questioning Trinamool Congress national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee in connection with the ongoing investigation into the alleged primary school recruitment irregularities in West Bengal.
Banerjee’s appearance before the federal agency comes just a day after he underwent an extensive eight-and-a-half-hour interrogation by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in a separate matter involving alleged forgery of signatures of MLAs on documents linked to the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.
Officials said the ED has prepared an extensive set of around two dozen questions for the TMC leader as part of its money laundering probe related to alleged irregularities in primary teacher appointments. The questioning is being conducted at the agency’s office at the CGO Complex in Kolkata.
According to officials, the entire interrogation session is being videographed and will be verified against other collected evidence, including statements of arrested accused persons involved in the case. Investigators are also cross-examining financial documents and digital records to trace the alleged flow of funds.
A senior ED officer said the agency’s primary focus remains on tracking the money trail behind the alleged scam. “We are examining who handled the funds, how they moved through different accounts and entities, and whether layering techniques were used to conceal the origin of money,” the officer said.
The probe agency is also expected to confront Banerjee with documentary evidence, bank transaction details, and communications recovered during earlier searches. Officials said the aim is to reconcile discrepancies between earlier statements and newly recovered materials.
Investigators have flagged the role of intermediaries and suspected beneficiary entities as part of their forensic analysis. The ED believes multiple front organisations may have been used to route funds linked to the alleged irregularities.
“We have obtained bank records and communication data suggesting involvement of several fronts. The objective of today’s questioning is to align these inputs with the version provided by Mr Banerjee,” an official added.
The agency has already questioned several individuals in the case, including former state minister Chandranath Sinha, as part of its widening investigation into recruitment related corruption allegations.
The probe is continuing as officials attempt to establish a clear financial linkage and determine whether proceeds of crime were generated through the alleged recruitment irregularities in the state education system.
Further developments are expected as the interrogation and analysis of evidence progress in the coming days.