ED arrests TMC MLA in West Bengal school jobs 'scam'
Kolkata (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate arrested ruling Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha on Monday following raids as part of its probe into alleged irregularities in the hiring of teachers and staffers in schools in West Bengal, official sources said.
He was taken into the central probe agency's custody following searches conducted at his residence in West Bengal's Murshidabad district.
According to sources, the MLA tried to escape from his house during the raids by jumping from a wall. He also threw his phones into a drain behind his house, and those have been recovered, they said.
Videos and pictures of the raids showed a drenched MLA being taken away by the ED and accompanying CRPF officials from an area marked by vegetation and trash lying around.
The MLA from the Burwan Assembly segment has been arrested for non-cooperation with the agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said, adding the raids also covered some of the MLA's relatives and associates.
Saha was arrested by the CBI in 2023 for his alleged links to the "scam" and later released.
The ED's money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by the CBI, which was directed by the Calcutta High Court to carry out investigations into alleged irregularities in the hiring of group 'C' and 'D' staff, assistant teachers of Classes 9 to 12 and primary teachers.
The ED had earlier arrested former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee, TMC MLA and ex-president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education Manik Bhattacharya, apart from some others in this case.
Chatterjee was suspended by the TMC after his arrest by the ED.
A total of four charge sheets have been filed by the ED in this case till now.
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Slain Australia beach shooting suspect native of Hyderabad: T'gana police
Hyderabad/Melbourne (PTI): Sajid Akram, the 50-year-old slain suspect in a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia, was an Indian citizen hailing from Hyderabad, Telangana Police revealed on Tuesday.
While he had migrated to Australia 27 years ago, Akram carried an Indian passport. Akram, along with his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, recently travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport.
Akram, one of the two suspects in the mass shooting that has left 15 people dead and dozens injured, migrated to Australia in 1998 and had limited contact with his family here since then, the Telangana DGP's office said in a statement.
"Sajid Akram (50) is originally from Hyderabad, India. He completed his B.Com degree in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment, approximately 27 years ago, in November 1998," it said.
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He married a European-origin woman before settling permanently in Australia. The couple have one son, Naveed (the second suspect who is in custody at a hospital in Australia) and one daughter, it said.
Naveed and Akram's daughter were born in Australia and are citizens of that country, the statement said.
On Tuesday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett described the mass shooting as "a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State."
According to Australian authorities, the suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older man, who was identified as Sajid Akram, was shot dead.
The Telangana police said Akram visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and to meet his elderly parents.
It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father's demise, the statement said.
The family members have further expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation, police said.
"The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana," Telangana police said.
Telangana Police further said it has no adverse record against Akram during his stay in India before his departure in 1998.
The state police said it remains committed to cooperating with central agencies and other counterparts, as and when required, and urged the public and media to avoid speculation or attribution without verified facts.
Quoting security sources, Australia's ABC News reported that Akram and Naveed travelled to the Philippines to receive "military-style training".
"Investigators are now examining the Akrams' ties to an international jihadist network, after discovering the pair travelled to Manila in early November," it said, quoting officials briefed on the investigation.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed the pair arrived in the Philippines from Australia on November 1, declaring the southern city of Davao - a hotbed for Islamic militants since the 1990s - as their destination, it said.
"They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination," ABC News quoted the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval as saying.
Sandoval said Akram entered the country on an Indian passport, while his son, Naveed, entered on an Australian passport.
In the Philippines, Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office and Press Officer for Malacanang Palace Claire Castro said that the National Security Council (NSC) is currently looking into reports that the father and son duo travelled to the country a month before the attack.
