The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at the residences of senior West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim and TMC MLA Madan Mitra in Kolkata on Sunday morning in connection with its probe over alleged irregularities in recruitments made in civic bodies, PTI reports.
A team of CBI officers reached Hakim’s residence in south Kolkata’s Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces.
Hakim holds the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs portfolio and is also the mayor of Kolkata. As the searches began, Hakim’s supporters gathered outside his house, and began a protest.
A CBI team also searched the residence of Mitra, a former minister and the MLA of Kamarhati in North 24 Parganas district, in the Bhabanipur area, around 3 km from Hakim’s residence in Chetla.
Reacting to the searches, senior TMC MP Sougata Roy called it “vendetta politics”.
“This is an attempt to divert the public’s attention from the ongoing protest outside Raj Bhavan, led by Abhishek Banerjee. The BJP appears to be sensing a growing public discontent, and they are using every means at their disposal to change the narrative. This is a clear example of vendetta politics,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
Rejecting the allegations, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “If the TMC has nothing to hide, why are they afraid of ED and CBI?”
“Whenever TMC leaders are summoned by the ED or CBI, they cry foul and accuse the agencies of being politically motivated. Yet, the reality is that the TMC is deeply mired in corruption with nearly every leader facing some allegation or the other,” he claimed.
Narada sting operation
In 2021, the CBI had arrested both Hakim and Mitra in the Narada sting operation case. Mitra was also arrested by the CBI in 2014 in the Saradha chit fund scam.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday searched multiple locations, including the residence of Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh, in connection with the recruitment case. It is alleged by the central investigating agencies that around 1,500 people were illegally recruited by different civic bodies in the state, between 2014 and 2018, against monetary considerations.
A total of 14 properties, including the houses of TMC leaders, were also searched.