TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee appears before ED in school jobs scam, questioning still underway

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with its probe into the alleged school jobs scam in West Bengal, officials said. Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary, reached the ED office around 11.30 am and questioning was underway till late on Wednesday evening. “Banerjee has been called to provide evidence in connection with the school recruitment irregularities. Our officers are also likely to ask him a few questions in connection with the scam,” an ED official told PTI. The Diamond Harbour MP skipped the coordination committee meeting of the opposition bloc INDIA in Delhi on Wednesday as he appeared before the ED. Elaborating on the questioning, the ED official said three of his colleagues were questioning Banerjee on his role and association with ‘Leaps and Bounds,’ the company allegedly involved in the scam. “Banerjee was asked about his association with the company and whether he was still holding the position of the director. Questioning is still underway and it may continue till our officers are satisfied,” he said. Asked whether Banerjee was cooperating with the ED sleuths, the officer replied in the affirmative. “He has been cooperating. But there are certain areas which are not clear. Our officers are trying to get those answers from him. Questioning is still on,” the official told PTI. Banerjee had on Tuesday filed a supplementary affidavit before the Calcutta High Court, claiming that a fresh summons was issued to him by the ED, when his revisional application challenging earlier summons by the agency is pending, is “bad in law”. Stating that the TMC MP has been summoned on Wednesday “to give evidence”, the affidavit said Banerjee has not only challenged the entire investigation qua (in the capacity of) him, but also the previous summons issued to him by the agency, in a revisional application filed by him before the high court. Banerjee alleged in the supplementary affidavit that the ED has “initiated and embarked upon a fishing and roving inquiry to rope in the petitioner into the domain of the alleged teacher recruitment scam”.