West Bengal SSC Recruitment Scam: ED Attaches Tea Properties Amid Ongoing ₹636.88 Crore Investigation
(Judicial Quest News Network)
West Bengal 24, June, 2025-The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Kolkata Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth ₹27.19 crore in connection with the West Bengal Central SSC Group C & D Recruitment Scam. The assets are linked to three tea estates owned by Prasanna Kumar Roy — M/s Samsing Organic Tea Pvt. Ltd., M/s Yangtong Organic Tea Pvt. Ltd., and M/s Bamandanga Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd.
The attached properties include bungalows, factories, plants, machinery, and vehicles, all allegedly purchased using illicit funds collected from ineligible candidates in exchange for illegal appointments to Group C & D government posts.
This action follows a landmark judgment by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on April 3, 2025, in SLP (Civil) 9586 of 2024 (State of West Bengal vs. Baishakhi Bhattacharya & Ors), which quashed over 25,000 appointments, branding the recruitment process as “vitiated and tainted.”
The ED launched its investigation based on two FIRs registered by the CBI under relevant sections of the IPC, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The probe revealed that numerous undeserving and unlisted candidates were appointed through criminal conspiracy and blatant violations of recruitment rules.
Enforcement Directorate has so far arrested Prasanna Kumar Roy, the alleged mastermind and money collector, and his associate Chandan Mondal have both been arrested and remain in judicial custody.
The ED had previously attached assets worth ₹219.91 crore in the same Group C & D recruitment scam.
₹238.78 crore in the SSC Assistant Teachers Recruitment Scam (Classes 9–12). ₹151 crore in the Primary Teachers Recruitment Scam.
Total ED Attachments in SSC Recruitment Scam Cases: ₹636.88 Crore
The Enforcement Directorate continues its investigation into the broader recruitment scam network in West Bengal, with multiple cases under scrutiny for systemic corruption and large-scale manipulation of public job appointments.
