Kolkata, July 31 (IANS) West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress legislator from the Bolpur constituency Chandranath Sinha, on Thursday, did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials for interrogation in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school job case.

The minister in charge of the micro, small and medium enterprises & textiles department was supposed to be at the Central investigation agency’s office in the CGO Complex at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata on Thursday by 11 a.m. However, he did not appear before the ED officers, and instead, was spotted at his residence in Bolpur.

ED officials, on Monday, issued a notice to Sinha, asking him to appear before their officers for questioning in the job scam on Thursday. He was asked to be present at the ED’s office with his bank accounts and property details.

However, Sinha did not make any statement before the media over the notice from the ED at that time. This was the second time that ED summoned Sinha in connection with the school-job case. In September last year, he had appeared before ED’s officers at its office in Salt Lake and faced questioning in the matter.

However, this time he has reportedly sought time from the ED for an appearance. Sources aware of the development said that he told the ED officials that even though he could not go for questioning on Thursday, he is in the process of preparing all the necessary documents concerned and would appear for interrogation in the matter soon.

The ED officials first secured the name of the minister from the diary of the middleman and now-suspended Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, who was later arrested by the Central agency officials. In March last year, the ED officials conducted raid and search operations at the minister’s residence at Bolpur in Birbhum district.

After the raid, the ED officials seized cash of Rs 41 lakh and a mobile phone from his residence. Sinha is known to be close to Trinamool Congress strongman and former district president of the party in Birbhum, Anubrata Mondal. Sinha was also summoned by the ED for questioning in connection with the multi-crore cattle-smuggling case in March last year.

–IANS

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