Who is Sujit Bose, first TMC leader arrested since BJP won West Bengal elections?

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 11 May arrested former West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sujit Bose in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged municipality recruitment scam in the state, officials told PTI.

The central probe agency took Bose, 63, into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after his day-long questioning at its CGO Complex office in Salt Lake in Kolkata, the officials said.

Bose's custody was the first major arrest of a TMC leader since the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government took charge of the state's administration last week.

Officials told PTI that Bose was "evasive" in his replies, often “inconsistent,” and was hence arrested. Bose will be produced before a special PMLA court here today, 12 May, where the ED will seek his custody for detailed interrogation, they said.

Bose, the former fire services department minister, was questioned in connection with the recruitment irregularities at the Dakshin Dum Dum municipality, which allegedly served as the venue for one of the biggest civic body recruitment scams in the state, where he previously served as vice chairman.

Who is Sujit Bose?

A three-time sitting MLA from Bidhannagar, Sujit Bose, lost the recent Assembly elections against the BJP's Sharadwat Mukherjee by a margin of more than 37,000 votes.

Bose started as a leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the CPI(M)’s youth wing. He rose to become a close aide of communist veteran and former minister Subhash Chakraborty. However, by the late 1990s, the two parted ways. Bose joined the TMC in 2001 and contested his first Assembly election against Chakraborty from Belgachia East five years later. Bose lost to his one-time mentor.

Chakraborty, however, passed away in 2009. Bose contested the subsequent bypoll against the CPI(M) veteran’s wife Ramala. Bose won and entered the assembly for the first time. He won two subsequent elections and was also appointed minister.

Bose, a known TMC heavyweight in Kolkata, was particularly credited for organising one of the city’s biggest Durga Pujas at Sreebhumi Sporting Club in the Lake Town area.

What is the alleged scam?

The civic body scam investigation in Bengal pertains to alleged irregularities in the recruitment of labourers, sweepers, clerks, peons, ambulance attendants, pump operators, helpers, sanitary assistants and drivers, etc, at several municipalities in the state, including South Dum Dum.

Bose is suspected to have played a direct role in providing jobs to about 150 employees across various categories in the municipality, recommending them for the positions, in lieu of pecuniary benefits.

The agency claimed it has traced "proceeds of crime" in the form of flats acquired by him in exchange for providing municipality jobs to various persons.

The ED has also traced cash deposits in bank accounts "under the control" of Bose, as per ED officials.

Confronted with statements from the previously arrested scam suspects, bank transactions and other documents, Bose was unable to provide satisfactory replies, agency sources told PTI.

The ED had raided his premises in October 2025.

Establishments owned by Bose and his son were twice searched by the agency, apart from that of former food and civil supplies minister Rathin Ghosh, reelected from the adjacent Madhyamgram assembly seat last year, with investigators claiming to have recovered "incriminating" documents during the raids.

The money laundering probe stems from a CBI FIR filed on the directions of the Calcutta High Court. The agency had issued multiple summons for questioning Bose when the assembly polls campaign was going on.

He had then moved the Calcutta High Court seeking exemption from appearance, citing election campaign commitments.

After the polls, Bose appeared before ED investigators at the CGO Complex on 1 May.

(With agency inputs)