The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached moveable and immoveable properties of three tea gardens in Jalpaiguri allegedly funded through a recruitment scam.
The properties of Samsing Organic Tea Private Limited, Yangtong Organic Tea Private Limited and Bamandanga Tea Estate Private Limited in the Mal subdivision of Jalpaiguri were held in the name of Prasanna Kumar Roy.
The gardens changed hands a year and a half ago. Businessman Rittik Bhattacharya is the current owner.
Roy is considered the key middleman in a recruitment scam that involves alleged illegal appointments of Group C and D employees in the state.
“ED, Kolkata has provisionally attached movable & immovable properties amounting to ₹27.19 Crore in the West Bengal Central SSC (Group C &D staff) Recruitment Scam of West Bengal held in the name of three tea estates of Prasanna Kumar Roy...,” the ED stated on X.
The attached properties comprise bungalows, factory, plans and machinery and vehicles.
“These properties were acquired from the cash collected from various undeserving candidates for their illegal appointments...,” the ED said.
The total quantum of attachment by the ED in the recruitment scam now stands at ₹636.88 crore, it stated.
Last year, the ED had initiated investigation following two FIRs registered by the CBI under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, regarding the alleged illegal appointment of Group C and D employees for offering appointments to undeserving, non-listed and low-ranked candidates instead of deserving ones.
The allegation includes appointments without maintaining fairness in a criminal conspiracy by various persons and flouting relevant rules.
The CBI chargesheets had revealed that a total of 3,432 (1,125 for Group C and 2,307 for Group D) employees were appointed/recommended illegally for the post of Group C and D staff by various state officials.
Earlier, too, the ED had attached properties held in the name of Roy, his wife Kajal Soni Roy and M/s Shree Durga Dealcom Private Limited, a company controlled and operated by him.
The attached properties include five hotels and resorts — Chalankita Resort (Shyampur, Howrah), Royal Bengal Resort (the Sunderbans), Hotel Mili (Digha), Hotel Murti (Jalpaiguri) and Bamboo Village Resort (Alipurduar).
Other attached properties included 120 land parcels held in the name of M/s Shree Durga Dealcom Private Limited, 64 land parcels and 12 flats/office/shops held in the name of Roy and 34 land parcels and 17 flats/office/shops held in the name of his wife.
The news has left the 2,000-odd workers of the three gardens in uncertainty.
Current owner Bhattacharya said he was not aware of the development, but had been called by the ED to Calcutta on June 9 for interrogation.
Sushil Kujur, the vice-president of Trinamool Congress affiliated tea workers union said they were waiting for ED officials to visit the gardens. “Let them (ED) visit the gardens and we will take our decision after that,” Kujur said.
Additional reporting by our correspondent in Jalpaiguri
