The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached immovable properties worth about Rs 57.78 crore in connection with the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (SSC) assistant teacher recruitment scam, officials said Wednesday.
The total properties attachment by ED in the recruitment scam cases now stands at Rs. 698 crore.
The attached properties belong to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, alleged middleman Prasanna Kumar Roy and his associates.
The properties, according to the ED, comprise multiple residential apartments, villas, and land parcels in Rajarhat, New Town, Patharghata, Garagari and other adjoining areas in North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, and Purba Bardhaman districts, alongwith HIDCO-developed areas of Kolkata. The agency said the assets were acquired from the proceeds of crime generated through illegal appointments of assistant teachers.
ED launched an investigation based on the FIRs registered by the CBI on the Calcutta High Court’s directions.
The investigation pertains to “large-scale manipulation” in the recruitment process conducted by the SSC, including tampering with OMR sheets and personality-test scores, as well as making appointments after the expiry of panels in exchange for illegal gratification.
According to the probe agency Roy, who acted as the main middleman in the scam, along with his associates, collected huge amounts of cash from undeserving candidates for securing illegal appointments.
“The proceeds of crime, amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees, were laundered through a complicated network of companies, LLPs and bank accounts, and were ultimately utilised for acquisition of immovable properties. ED probe revealed that Jiban Krishna Saha, MLA, TMC, a key accused in the assistant teacher recruitment scam, was actively involved in collection and handling of proceeds of crime collected from undeserving candidates for securing their appointments to the post of Group C, D and Assistant Teachers,” read the ED statement.
Saha was arrested in August 2025, after trying to flee during an ED search at his Murshidabad home. Investigation revealed he used laundered proceeds from the recruitment scam to buy properties worth Rs 3.01 crore in his and his family’s names, mainly in Murshidabad and Purba Bardhaman districts.
The probe also revealed that a large number of properties were acquired in the name of Nilima Mangal, a close associate and the former wife of Prasanna Kumar Roy. The investigation established that substantial funds used for acquisition of these properties were sourced from illegal recruitment scams, ED said in its statement.