The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested former West Bengal minister and senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sujit Bose in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged municipality recruitment scam in the state.
According to officials, Bose, 63, was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after being questioned for several hours at the ED’s CGO Complex office in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
Officials said the former minister was allegedly “evasive” and “inconsistent” in his responses during questioning, following which the agency decided to arrest him. Bose is expected to be produced before a special PMLA court in Kolkata on Tuesday, where the ED will seek custody for further interrogation.
The arrest marks one of the first major actions against a senior TMC leader since the BJP government led by Suvendu Adhikari assumed charge in West Bengal last week.
The ED investigation relates to alleged irregularities in recruitments carried out in several municipalities across West Bengal, including the Dakshin Dum Dum municipality, where Bose had previously served as vice chairman. Investigators suspect that appointments for various civic posts, including labourers, sweepers, clerks, peons, ambulance attendants, pump operators, sanitary assistants, helpers and drivers, were made in exchange for money.
Agency officials suspect Bose played a direct role in facilitating jobs for nearly 150 employees across different categories within the municipality in return for alleged pecuniary benefits.
The ED has also claimed to have traced alleged “proceeds of crime” in the form of flats purportedly acquired in exchange for municipal jobs. Officials further alleged that cash deposits were found in bank accounts said to be under Bose’s control.
Bose was confronted with statements from previously arrested suspects, bank transaction records and other documents during questioning. Officials claimed he failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding the allegations.
The money laundering probe originates from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR registered on the directions of the Calcutta High Court. The ED had earlier issued multiple summons to Bose during the recent West Bengal Assembly election campaign.
Bose had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking exemption from appearance before the agency at the time, citing election-related commitments. Following the elections, he appeared before ED officials at the CGO Complex on May 1.
The ED had previously conducted raids at Bose’s premises in October 2025. Establishments linked to Bose and his son were searched twice by investigators. Raids were also carried out at properties connected to former food and civil supplies minister Rathin Ghosh, with investigators claiming to have recovered incriminating documents.
A three-time MLA from Bidhannagar, Bose recently lost the Assembly election to BJP candidate Sharadwat Mukherjee by a margin of more than 37,000 votes.
Bose began his political career in the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPI(M), and was once considered close to veteran Left leader Subhash Chakraborty. He later joined the TMC in 2001 and entered the West Bengal Assembly after winning a bypoll in 2009. Bose subsequently won two more Assembly elections and served as a minister in the state government.
Apart from politics, Bose was also associated with organising the popular Sreebhumi Sporting Club Durga Puja in Kolkata’s Lake Town area.
