The ED team, which was accompanied by a huge contingent of central forces, reached Sinha’s residence around 9.15 am and started the raid. Sinha, the state MSME and textiles minister, was not in his residence at that time.

Sources said Sinha, who was at his ancestral house in Murarai in the same district around 90 km away, left for his Bolpur residence on learning about the development.

According to a senior ED official, the search was being conducted in connection with the investigation of the alleged irregularities in the school jobs scam.

Sinha was earlier summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the cattle and coal smuggling cases.

Meanwhile, other ED teams were conducting simultaneous raids at the residences of a few businessmen in different parts of Kolkata, including Lake Town, Chetla, Park Street and Ballygunge, in connection with the alleged recruitment scam. According to the officials, they were suspected to be helping in transferring funds illegally from India to other countries.