ED summons Tollywood actor in Bengal teachers scam case

Kolkata, March 9:  The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the multi-crore teachers' recruitment scam in West Bengal seems to be now entering the second phase of investigation focusing on the Bengali cinema link.

The central agency sleuths have summoned Tollywood actor Bonny Sengupta aka Anupriyo Sengupta in connection with the multi-crore scam. The actor has confirmed to the ED that he will be going to the agency's office at the central government office (CGO) complex at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata during the current week.

Repeated attempts by IANS to contact Sengupta for his comments failed.

Sources said that the name of the actor surfaced following the cross-checking of the documents of Kuntal Ghosh, the arrested youth Trinamool Congress leader, who is currently in judicial custody.

Sources said that Sengupta will be questioned on whether there had been any financial transaction between him and Ghosh, and if yes for what purpose.

Sengupta made his acting debut in the Bengali movie 'Borbaad', which was directed by Raj Chakraborty, popular film director and current Trinamool Congress legislator from Barrackpore Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district. Sengupta is the grandson of Sukhen Das, a popular actor-director of yesteryears in Tollywood.

Already, a production house, christened Novkatha Initiative and owned by Ghosh, had recently started producing music videos and web-series. From cross-checking different documents seized from his possession, the ED sleuths have come across clues that a part of the scam proceeds were invested in the production process and are interrogating Ghosh to get more details on this count.