Enforcement Directorate teams accompanied by huge central paramilitary contingents raided the houses of a minister, an MLA and a former municipal chairman, all from Trinamul, in connection with a probe into alleged corruption in municipal recruitments.

Those raided were state fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose; Trinamul’s deputy chief whip in the Assembly, Tapas Roy; and former North Dum Dum municipality chairman and current councillor Subodh Chakraborty.

At all three places, large central force teams controlled substantial areas around the houses, not allowing any gatherings, wiser from last week’s mayhem during a raid on Trinamul leader Shahjahan Sheikh’s home at Sandeshkhali, North 24-Parganas.

ED sources said they were investigating Bose’s role during his earlier stint as vice-chairman of the South Dum Dum municipality.

A team raided two houses belonging to Bose in the same Lake Town neighbourhood. These officials were the last to come out on Friday night after a marathon raid of around 13-and-a-half hours. They were seen coming out of the houses with documents.

Later at night, Bose said his phone had been seized along with some documents that the agency had sought from him.

“I hold the fire and emergency services portfolio. I requested them to return my phone. It is very difficult for me (to function) as fire minister without my phone. But they did not listen,” he said.

Bose complained that the raid had forced him to cancel all his engagements relating to the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

“My wife, myself, my daughter and my son — we all cooperated with the central agency. We are ready to cooperate in every possible way in the future too,” he said.

“But let me assure you, if it is proved that anyone has given me money in connection with my profession, I will resign immediately.”

The minister said the Centre was using the ED, CBI and the income-tax department to harass political opponents.

Last year, the ED had arrested a city businessman, Ayan Sil, in connection with alleged irregularities in recruitment to government-aided schools across Bengal.

While raiding Sil’s house, the agency is said to have stumbled on documents relating to recruitment to municipal bodies. This prompted it to submit a report before Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of Calcutta High Court, who was already hearing the school recruitment case.

The court then ordered the ED and the CBI to start a probe into the alleged irregularities in recruitment to the municipal bodies. No one has been arrested in this case by either agency yet.

The ED team arrived at Bose’s house near Sreebhumi Club in Lake Town around 7am. Another team raided the home of Roy, Baranagar MLA and Trinamul deputy chief whip, in central Calcutta while a third raided Chakraborty’s home in Birati.

As the ED officials entered the houses, large contingents of the central forces, armed with guns and tear gas shells, patrolled the streets outside, marching the way they do for “area domination” during elections.

“I have never seen so many armed men in uniform in this neighbourhood. They were not allowing us to go near Sujitda’s home,” a resident of the neighbourhood said.

The scene outside Bose’s house marked a stark contrast with what had happened at Sandeshkhali, where a mob assaulted the raiding officials and journalists tailing them.

Bengal police later started a case against the ED officials on the basis of a complaint from Shahjahan’s family for alleged house trespass and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.

On Friday, the central forces “dominated” the area within almost a 1km radius from Bose’s house, refusing to let people assemble or huddle within that zone.

The teams that visited Roy’s and Chakraborty’s homes too left with some documents and seized their phones.

The ED team entered Roy’s B.B. Ganguly Street house close to 6am and stepped out more than 12 hours later.

“In my entire political career, I have never been associated with any corruption, nor will I be in future,” Roy said. “If I were not in politics, they would not have raided my house.”

Asked whether the raid represented political vendetta, he said: “If I say this, it would appear that I am saying it casually like others do. Whatever statement has to be made, will be made by the party. Mamata Banerjee will speak; Abhishek Banerjee will speak.”

ED officials said Chakraborty’s role was under the scanner because of recruitments he was responsible for.

“His son and daughter were recruited to two separate municipalities when he was the chairman,” an ED official said.

Chakraborty said the ED officials had asked him some “irrelevant questions”.

He and Roy said they had “cooperated” with the central agency.