CBI teams searched the homes of two Trinamul Congress councillors in Patuli and Rajarhat on Thursday as part of its ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in recruitments in government-aided schools.
Around 8.40am, a team reached the Patuli home of of Bappaditya Dasgupta, councillor of Ward 101 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). He is said to be once close to Partha Chatterjee, former education minister and an accused in the case.
Around 9am, another team reached the Rajarhat house of Debraj Chakraborty, councillor of Ward 7 of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation.
CBI teams also landed up in various addresses in Murshidabad, including the Domkol residence of Jafikul Islam, the local Trinamul MLA, and in Cooch Behar.
The CBI did not issue any statement about the day’s search and seizure operations. Agency sources said over Rs 28 lakh was seized from Islam’s home. The MLA said the cash was from the sale of land.
Officers said the agency had on Wednesday filed a petition in the special CBI court in Alipore seeking permission to conduct searches to identify some beneficiaries of the proceeds of the alleged crime.
“We have seized some documents from the two locations searched in Calcutta," said an officer.
Investigators said the councillors’ names surfaced when some of the accused in the case were being questioned.
Dasgupta, Trinamul chief whip at the KMC, had earlier said that former minister Chatterjee, now in jail, was his mentor and helped him enter politics. He is also a key functionary of Naktala Udayan Sangha, the club synonymous with Chatterjee till recently.
Dasgupta said after the nearly five-hour search ended that the officers questioned him about the alleged irregularities in appointments in schools and his association with the former minister.
“The officers collected bank statements, a mobile phone and a few CVs. The CVs are of candidates whom the civic body engages for work in various departments,” Dasgupta said.
Chakraborty, whose wife is the Trinamul MLA of Rajarhat-Gopalpur, Aditi Munshi, was not at his Rajarhat home when the CBI team turned up. He retuned home after being informed by his mother about the raid.
After a four-hour search, the CBI team left for the councillor’s house in Dum Dum Park.
“The officers showed me a court order and said the search was in connection with the probe in the school hiring case,” Chakraborty said.