Property documents, Rs 40 lakh in cash seized from Bengal MSME minister Chandranath Sinha’s residence: ED

Kolkata: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers have seized several property-related documents, one mobile phone and over Rs 40 lakh in cash during their 14-hour-long raid at West Bengal minister Chandranath Sinha’s residence in Birbhum district, an official said on Saturday.

The ED sleuths had on Friday conducted the search operation at the Bolpur residence of Sinha in connection with the agency's investigation into the alleged school recruitment scam.

The state minister could not clarify why such a big amount of cash was kept at his residence, the ED official said.

"We have seized some property-related documents for the sake of our investigation. One mobile phone and over Rs 40 lakh in cash were seized. We have also asked some questions to the minister," the ED officer told PTI.

The central agency raided Sinha’s residence when he was at his ancestral house in Murarai, around 90 km away from Bolpur.

The ED officers asked Sinha to return to Bolpur where he was questioned for several hours till midnight, the official added.