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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Lebanon PM accuses Israel of ‘war crime’ after rescue workers killed in strikes
Beirut: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Tuesday accused Israel of committing a “war crime” after five people, including three civil defence personnel, were killed in twin air strikes in southern Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, the strikes targeted a building in the town of Majdal Zoun, where rescue workers had arrived following an initial attack. A second strike hit the same location, killing those involved in relief operations.
Salam said targeting emergency responders carrying out humanitarian duties amounted to a serious violation of international humanitarian law. He added that the government would raise the matter at international forums and seek action to halt such incidents.
A spokesperson for the Lebanese Civil Defence was quoted by AL Jazeera that the rescuers were trapped under debris after the second strike and later confirmed dead.
The Lebanese army said two of its personnel were also injured in the attack, which reportedly struck a military patrol escorting the rescue team along with civilian equipment.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun also condemned the incident, stating that it was part of a pattern of attacks affecting relief workers and civilians.
Despite a US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, cross-border hostilities have continued, with frequent air strikes reported in southern and eastern parts of the country.
Lebanese authorities said at least eight people were killed in separate incidents on Tuesday, while the overall toll from Israeli strikes since early March has crossed 2,500, with thousands injured.
