Civic job scam: ED seizes cash, gold in fresh raids at Calcutta businessman’s offices
Telegraph | 30 October 2025The teams visited his Taratala office and his godown in Lake Town on Wednesday. According to sources, several kilos of gold and cash have been seized.
While senior officials refused to comment on the day’s search and seizure operations, sources said the raids were linked to the agency’s ongoing probe into the civic body recruitment scam case.
The first team arrived at the office of a businessman on Taratala Road, accompanied by members of the central forces, and conducted search operations that continued until the last reports came in.
Around ₹2 crore was seized from the office, sources said. The company provides end-to-end logistics services.
The second team visited his godown in Lake Town.
The businessman failed to provide documents justifying the presence of gold and cash at Taratala, sources said.
“This is a part of an ongoing probe in connection with the recruitment irregularities in municipalities. It won’t be proper to comment on anything further,” said a senior ED official.
Wednesday’s raids came within a day of separate ED teams visiting two different addresses on Hemchandra Naskar Road in Beleghata, and sources said the raids were also part of the central agency’s ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in appointments in civic bodies.
As per sources from the Enforcement Directorate, the impetus for the probe stemmed from the agency’s 2023 findings, which suggested that Ayan Sil, allegedly implicated in irregularities related to recruitment in government-aided schools, was also reportedly involved in the recruitment of nearly 5,000 candidates to permanent positions in about 60 municipalities statewide.
The ED arrested Sil in March 2023 for his alleged involvement in the irregularities in recruitment in state-aided schools. He was later arrested for his alleged involvement in recruitment irregularities in municipalities as well.
While Sil was granted bail in an irregularities in school appointment case, in March Calcutta High Court denied him bail in the other case.
There are 123 municipalities and seven municipal corporations across the state. Under the scanner are alleged appointments in several civic bodies near Kolkata, including South Dum Dum, Kamarhati, Panihati, North Dum Dum and Baranagar municipalities, as well as a few in north Bengal.
“A part of the probe involves tracing the proceeds of crime from the recruitment scam and identifying whether it is allegedly parked with individuals. The day’s raids are in connection with this,” said a source in the agency.
According to senior officials in the state urban development department, the sanctioned workforce across 123 municipalities and seven municipal corporations (excluding the Kolkata Municipal Corporation) surpasses 79,000, while the existing workforce is roughly 39,000.
