The Enforcement Directorate has procured crucial clues about collection of Rs 12 crore in the alleged scam for recruitment of staff in different municipalities in West Bengal by private real estate promoter Ayan Sil, who is already in custody for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore teachers' recruitment scam, officials said.
During the recent raid and search operations at Sil's residence the ED sleuths got hold of the documents relating to his involvement in the municipalities recruitment scam. Sources said that during the course of that raid and search operations, the central agency sleuths recovered a hard disc from his residence.
After decoding the contents in the hard disc, the sleuths have got a clear picture of the proceeds collected by Sil in municipalities recruitment and the amount as calculated by them is to the tune of around Rs 12 crore.
ED sources said that while this is the collection amount only from the municipalities recruitment irregularities, the central agency sleuths are yet to reach at the final calculation of proceeds collected by the arrested real estate promoter from the scam relating to recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools.
As per initial estimates done by ED the collection made by Sil from the two scams combined will be nothing less than around Rs 100 crore. Sources said that the hard disc not only has mention about the total proceeds collected in case of the municipalities recruitment irregularities, but also names of the candidates from whom money was collected and the amount collected from each on this count.
The ED has already decided to file a separate case in the scam of recruitment irregularities in the municipalities. The ED counsel has already claimed at a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) such irregularities had been evident in several municipalities in the state and in that process around 5,000 people in workers' and clerks' grades were recruited against payments of crore of rupees.