West Bengal: ED Raids in Teacher Recruitment Scam in Kolkata

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday began raids at the residences and office of a builder, who is considered close to former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in the recruitment in primary schools in the state, an official said.

Kolkata (West Bengal):A team of the Enforcement Directorate is conducting raids on close associates of former West Bengal education minister and jailed ruling Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata, as per sources. Sources said that raids are being conducted in connection with the teacher recruitment scam at multiple locations.

In 2022, Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the School Service Commission (SSC) scam in West Bengal on July 23. The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.

"Enforcement Directorate conducting raids on close associates of former education minister and jailed TMC leader Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata. Raids are underway in connection with teacher recruitment scam at multiple locations in Kolkata," as per Sources Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari claimed on Thursday that the West Bengal government jobs for sale nexus is very active, as he shared an audio clip of the purported crime on his social media handle.

In the audio clip, shared by the BJP leader a conversation between Kalipada Pati, a TMC leader and an agent of TMC (as claimed by the BJP leader) leader Manik Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee, and a job aspirant who paid Rs 14 lakhs for a teacher's post in a government school but did not get the appointment can be heard.

Adhikari claimed that the teacher recruitment scam was still active and tagged the ED and CBI in his post, seeking action against the culprits. In a post on 'X' on Thursday, he said, "The 'WB Govt Jobs for Sale' nexus is very much active. Listen to the conversation between Kalipada Pati and a client (job aspirant). TMC Leader Kalipada Pati has quite a reputation of being the Agent of Manik Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee in Dantan; West Medinipur district."

He further said, "The conversation is about returning of Rs. 14 lakhs, paid in advance for securing a job as a Teacher in a WB Govt School, which hasn't matured yet. Kalipada Pati can be heard assuring the desperate client about the possibility of appointment in some time. The Teacher Recruitment Scam is a harsh reality that is still in existence and all the perpetrators involved belong to the TMC Party."

"Since Dantan is on the Odisha border, the language spoken here is a colloquial mix of local accented Bengali with a heavy influence of Oriya. The subtitles have been provided for convenience:- Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (India)," he added.

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