A high court judge on Friday ordered the removal of Mithilesh Mishra, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) assistant director who was the investigation officer in the probe into the alleged corruption in school recruitments in Bengal, from the inquiry.
Justice Amrita Sinha asked the ED to appoint “any other competent officer” to perform the job with immediate effect.
Justice Sinha also told the ED to ensure that the probe scheduled for October
3 should be “strictly implemented”.
The agency has summoned Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to appear at its office on October 3 in connection with the investigation into the alleged links of the company Leaps and Bounds with the job scam. Banerjee is the CEO of the company, the ED has said.
Banerjee, however, tweeted on Friday that he would not be available in Calcutta on October 2 and 3 because he will join a protest programme in Delhi and dared anyone to stop him.
“The fight against the deprivation of WB and its rightful dues shall persist regardless of the obstacles. No force on Earth can hinder my dedication to fight for the people
of WB and their fundamental rights. I’ll b in Delhi joining the protest on Oct 2nd &
3rd. STOP ME IF U CAN!” Banerjee posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Justice Sinha said she had no confidence in Mishra carrying out the probe. “This court has no confidence in Mishra. The officer cannot be engaged in any of the financial crime cases of Bengal in the future,” she said.
“The agency will have to see that its probe is not be hampered even on October 3,” said Justice Sinha.
The last part of the order was added after senior lawyer Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya informed the court that Banerjee had posted on social media that he would not go to the ED office as he would have to attend a party programme on October 2 and 3.