The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed a letter addressed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in connection to the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam in the State, reported Zee News.
The said letter reportedly contains information about 44 aspirants who paid ₹7 lakhs each in exchange for a government job. Zee News reported that the contentious letter is written by a Trinamool Congress (TMC) office bearer and addressed to Mamata Banerjee, confirming the receipt of the trench of money.
Besides, ED also found a CD containing the names and roll number details of candidates who were selected for the fraudulent teacher’s exam of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE).
The West Bengal Teacher’s recruitment scam, more commonly referred to as the SSC scam, refers to the fraud committed at the State Level Selection Test (SLT) between 2014 to 2016.
Candidates who appeared for the SLST exam had alleged that many candidates who secured fewer marks ended up with higher ranks on the merit list. They further stated that the candidates who were not on the merit list were also sent appointment letters.
Also, in the year 2016, multiple allegations of corruption cropped up regarding the recruitment of Group C and Group D employees in secondary and higher secondary schools under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education.
The matter came to light in March 2022 after irregularities were noticed in the recruitment process of teachers in the state government schools.
The arrest of TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya
On the intervening night of October 10-11, the Enforcement Directorate arrested TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya, for failing to cooperate with the agency’s investigation in the teacher recruitment scam case.
A day earlier, he was questioned over conceivable irregularities in the recruitment of elementary teachers. It must be mentioned that Bhattacharya is the former president of WBBPE.
On the instructions of the Calcutta High Court, Manik Bhattacharya was removed from his position as head of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education in June this year. On July 22, the ED searched his residence. The TMC MLA was interrogated later that month.
The Supreme Court had granted him immunity from arrest in the CBI case till October 10. He was arrested just hours after his Supreme Court-granted legal immunity expired.