Trinamool Youth Congress president Saayoni Ghosh has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a second round of questioning regarding the multi-crore school recruitment case in West Bengal.
The actress-turned-politician faced an extensive 11-hour questioning session at the Salt Lake office of the central agency on Friday in connection with the education scam.
Meanwhile, the name of Saayoni has been omitted from the list of campaigners for the panchayat poll campaign. On Saturday, the ruling Trinamool party released the list of campaigners for the panchayat polls on the first day of July, which contains the names of the top leaders of the party.
However, Saayoni’s name is not included. Previously, the actress-politician’s name was on the list of panchayat poll campaigners published by the Trinamool until last Wednesday. Trinamool’s star campaigners did not campaign on Thursday due to the Eid festival.
During the questioning, which took place from 12 to 11 pm, Ghosh did not visibly attempt to evade or avoid questions. However, according to sources from the agency, she provided several contradictory answers on various occasions. As a result, she has been summoned again on July 5 to provide clarifications on the inconsistencies in her statements.
Following Ghosh’s departure, the ED office hinted that she may be summoned for further questioning in the near future.
Ghosh said, “I have fully cooperated. They requested some documents, which I have already submitted. If they call me again, I will appear. If necessary, I am willing to stay here for 24 hours and cooperate.”
Sources revealed that Ghosh was questioned based on her WhatsApp chat messages with an accused individual in the school recruitment case, as well as expelled youth Trinamul Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, who is currently in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the scam.
Additionally, the actress-turned-politician was questioned about certain banking transactions between herself and Kuntal Ghosh, which have recently come to light during the investigation.
These transactions are related to the purchase of property. Ghosh had been instructed to appear at the ED office on Friday with all relevant documents, including bank statements, income tax returns from previous years, and details of her properties and assets.