The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a notice to Trinamool Congress youth president and Bengali actress Saayoni Ghosh concerning a teachers’ recruitment scam case in West Bengal. The ED has asked Saayoni Ghosh to appear before the investigating agency’s office at CGO Complex, Kolkata on Friday, June 30. Saayoni Ghosh will be questioned about some financial transactions.
When TMC youth wing leader Kuntal Ghosh was under investigation, Saayoni Ghosh’s name appeared several times. Therefore, the central agency has summoned her.
According to reports, an officer said, “Ghosh’s name has come up several times during the interrogation of those arrested in the teachers’ recruitment scam case. We have evidence of Ghosh’s involvement in several transactions with one of the accused arrested in this scam. We have asked her (Saayoni Ghosh) to bring some specific documents on Friday.”
Earlier this month, the ED summoned Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for questioning regarding the same scam. Former Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, his close friend Arpita Mukherjee and several senior officials of the education department have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the scam. Now, a notice has been issued to Saayoni Ghosh in this case.
What is the Bengal Teacher SSC recruitment scam?
The West Bengal Teacher’s recruitment scam, more commonly referred to as the SSC scam, looks into the recruitment process conducted through the State Level Selection Test (SLT) conducted by SSC from 2014 to 2016.
The West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) announced in 2014 that teachers would be hired at state-run schools in West Bengal through the State Level Selection Test (SLST), which is when the alleged scam first surfaced. In 2016, the hiring process got underway. At that time, Partha Chatterjee was the Minister-in-Charge of the West Bengal Department of Higher Education and School Education. Nevertheless, a number of complaints were submitted to the Calcutta High Court citing irregularities in the hiring procedure.
The petitioners alleged that many examinees who got lesser marks ranked high on the merit list. Several claims also surfaced regarding the receipt of appointment letters by some applicants who weren’t even on the merit list.