Seven days after an Enforcement Directorate raiding team and its accompanying CRPF escorts were assaulted and driven away by a mob of 1000 people in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal, the agency on Friday raided the residences of Sujit Bose, the Fire and Emergency Services Minister of West Bengal, and MLA Tapas Roy, a long-time associate of Mamata Banerjee, and former North Dumdum Municipality chairman Subodh Chakraborty in connection with its probe into the irregularities in recruitments in civic bodies. The raids started from 6:30 am and continued for the next 12 hours.
Keeping the Sandeshkhali experience in mind, the CRPF was present in far greater numbers. They were also armed with teargas guns and shells, sticks and shields, and they wore body armour and helmets. They also staged route marches in the areas around the leaders’ residences to create area domination and broke up even small gatherings of people to prevent any mob action.
Trinamool Congress spokesman Santanu Sen said: “It looked as if the armed forces were going to fight an Indo-Pakistan war or against terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir. If the forces had been as vigilant in Manipur, then the State wouldn’t be burning today.”
ED officers conducted raids at two residences of Bose in the Lake Town area in North 24 Parganas district early Friday morning, an officer said, adding that the central agency officers also raided Tapas Roy’s B.B. Ganguly Street residence in Central Kolkata and Chakraborty’s residence in Birati.
The ED officers initially faced resistance in entering Bose residence and after around 40 minutes they were allowed inside. “We are carrying a search warrant and despite showing that we were initially not allowed to enter,” an officer said.