Trinamool MLA Tapas Saha Passes Away At 66; Mamata Expresses Condolences

Nadia: Trinamool Congress's Tehatta MLA Tapas Saha, who was allegedly linked to the school recruitment corruption case, died of a cerebral stroke on Thursday morning at a private hospital on the EM bypass in Kolkata. He was 66.

According to party sources, Saha had been suffering from multiple physical problems for a long time and went to Bengaluru a few days ago for treatment. He suddenly felt unwell at home on Wednesday morning and was first taken to the sub-division hospital, where doctors diagnosed it to be a brain stroke. As his condition was critical, he was quickly shifted to a private hospital in Kolkata, where he breathed his last at 8:15 am.

Taking to X, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief over Saha's demise. "I am deeply shocked by the untimely demise of Shri Tapas Saha, the MLA from Tehatta in Nadia, an important member of our Trinamool Congress family. He was my long-time colleague. His passing is an irreparable loss to the politics of the district and Bengal as a whole. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, relatives, friends, and countless supporters," she wrote.

Saha was elected as the MLA for the first time in 2016 from the Palashipara constituency. In 2021, the party fielded him from the Tehatta constituency, and he won the seat. Since then, he has repeatedly been embroiled in controversies, as Serious allegations were levelled against him in the teacher recruitment scam.

It was alleged that a huge amount of money was taken by him in the name of providing school jobs. In this case, 12 CBI officers raided his house for 15 hours and collected some documents. Samples of burnt answer sheets were recovered from the pond next to his house. At the end of the investigation, the CBI informed the court that the Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly had permitted the trial.

A day before Saha's death, the CBI informed the Calcutta High Court that the investigation against him was over and preparations were underway to file a chargesheet. However, it was alleged that the state anti-corruption branch had not yet submitted the complete case diary. A hearing is scheduled for May 20.

Meanwhile, Saha's untimely death has raised questions about whether the pressure of the investigation was gradually becoming unbearable for him and if mental stress was the cause of the stroke. A similar question was raised a few years back when another TMC leader and a noted actor, Tapas Paul, an accused in the chit fund scam that shocked the country, died. Paul's family and the party alleged there was huge pressure on him.

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