Bengal school job case: ED summons Abhishek Banerjee again on Oct 3

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee at its office in CGO complex, Salt Lake, here for questioning in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school job case in West Bengal on October 3.

Incidentally, on that day Abhishek Banerjee is supposed to be in New Delhi to lead Trinamool Congress’s protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar against the Union government’s "reluctance" to release funds to the West Bengal government.

Banerjee has been summoned as the chief executive officer of a corporate entity whose name has surfaced in connection with the probe in the school job case.

The information about the ED summon was given by Banerjee himself through a message posted on his X (formerly Twitter), where he has accused the central agency of summoning him again on a crucial day of his political assignment just as they did on September 13 when he was supposed to attend the INDIA bloc coordination meeting as a member.

“Earlier this month, the ED summoned me on a day coinciding with an important coordinating meeting of #INDIA in Delhi. I dutifully appeared and complied with the served summons. Now, today yet again they have served me another summons to appear before them on a day when the protest agitation for West Bengal's rightful dues is scheduled in Delhi on 3rd Oct. This stark revelation unequivocally exposes those who are truly perturbED, rattlED and scarED!” Banerjee's post read.

However, till the time the report was filed it was not clear whether Banerjee will be honouring the summon this time.

To recall, on September 22, the Calcutta High Court’s single- judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh rejected Banerjee’s plea for dismissal of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) filed against him by ED in the case.

However, the bench granted him an interim protection against any coercive action by the ED just on the basis of the ECIR. The Justice observed that since the preliminary findings in ECIR are just based on some statements of another accused in the case Sujay Krisha Bhadra, so on the basis of that ECIR no coercive action can be taken against him for the time being.

Again on September 24, the ED sleuths faced the ire of the Calcutta High Court’s single- judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha for submitting incomplete details on the assets and properties of Banerjee.