Cash-for-job case: Verdict on ED's plea seeking Bengal minister's custody reserved till September 23 (Ld)

Kolkata, Sep 20 (IANS) A PMLA court in Kolkata on Saturday reserved the verdict on the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking custodial interrogation of West Bengal Minister Chandranath Sinha in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school-jobs scam case till September 23.

As per information available, the order in the matter will be pronounced on September 23, following which it will be clear whether ED's plea for custody for Sinha, West Bengal Correction Services and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles Minister, would be granted or the latter's interim bail would be extended.

On Saturday, the ED counsel sought seven-day custody for the minister after presenting his arguments in favour of the charges framed against the latter by the central investigating agency.

The main charges of framed by ED against Sinha include alleged fictitious financial transactions of Rs 12.73 crore identified in bank accounts held by him and his family members, his inability to justify the sources of inwards cash remittances to his bank account in hefty amounts and in phases, and finally misreporting or under-reporting of income in subsequent income tax declarations, which ED had detailed in its sixth supplementary charge sheet filed in the matter at the special court earlier this month.

Minister Sinha's counsel said that his client had been cooperating with the investigating officials and would continue to do so in the future, and hence, his client should not be sent to ED custody even if it attracts any condition.

On September 6, Sinha surrendered before the same PMLA court in connection with the ED's probe into the alleged recruitment scam. The court later granted him interim bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000, with certain conditions attached.

Earlier this month, the ED submitted its sixth supplementary charge sheet to the special court, detailing financial irregularities in the accounts of Sinha and his family members.

The document highlighted a series of large, phased cash deposits made into a joint account held by the minister and his wife, Kuntala Sinha, at a branch of a public sector bank in Kolkata.

According to the sixth supplementary charge sheet, a total of Rs 1.18 crore in cash was deposited into the joint account between January 2016 and November 2019 - identified as the peak period of the alleged school recruitment scam.

--IANS

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