Abhishek Banerjee skips ED's summons in jobs scam case, moves Calcutta HC's division bench

Abhishek, a Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal's Diamond Harbour constituency, is presently in Delhi with other parliamentarians of his party and ministers from the state to protest against the Centre's withholding of the MGNREGA funds.

Calcutta High Court judge Amrita Sinha had directed the ED to ensure Banerjee appears before it. If he skips, the central probe agency can take any step, Justice Amrita Sinha had said.

Meanwhile, Abhishek on Tuesday moved the division bench of Calcutta High Court seeking an explanation of Justice Sinha's order.

The TMC MP has also appealed to allow him to skip the summons on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Abhishek's mother Lata Banerjee and father Amit Banerjee have also been summoned by ED on October 6 and 7 respectively in connection with teachers' recruitment scam.

Amit and Lata Banerjee, his parents, serve as directors of Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd, which is presently under ED scrutiny. Established in 2012, the company operates in the Food and Beverages sector in Kolkata, according to an India Today report.

Abhishek was a director in the company from April 2012 to January 2014 and is still listed as the CEO, it said.

The ED has previously stated that numerous suspicious financial transactions were conducted through this company.

In connection with the matter, the former COO of Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd, Sujay Krishna Bhadra, has also been arrested. Bhadra is known to have close ties with the Banerjee family, and his arrest has added further intensity to the investigation into the company's activities, according to the report.

Abhishek Banerjee faced questioning by the ED for nearly nine hours on September 13. He asserted that this inquiry was an attempt to hinder his participation in the opposition alliance INDIA meeting.