The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday issued summons to Debasish Kumar, a Trinamul Congress legislator from the Rashbehari Assembly constituency in south Kolkata and a Member-Mayor-in-Council (MMiC) of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, in connection with an alleged illegal land-grabbing case in West Bengal.
Mr Kumar reached the ED office at the Central Government Office (CGO) complex in Salt Lake to face questioning by investigating officials. Mr Kumar, who has been re-nominated from the Rashbehari Assembly constituency for the upcoming Assembly election is being examined in connection with an ongoing probe into alleged financial irregularities linked to a city-based organisation accused of land grabbing and duping investors.
Sources aware of the development said that on 28 March, ED officials conducted simultaneous searches at multiple locations in Kolkata and adjoining areas as part of the investigation. The raids included the office premises of the organisation under scanner as well as the residences of its directors and senior functionaries. According to sources, the organisation is accused of luring investors with promises of high returns through various schemes, and subsequently defrauding them. The alleged activities are also linked to illegal land acquisitions in and around the city. The ED is learnt to have initiated its investigation based on around 17 FIRs registered against the organisation at different police stations across West Bengal. There was no immediate reaction from the Trinamul Congress leadership on the development.