ED considering fresh custodial interrogation of Partha Chatterjee in two Bengal school-job cases

Kolkata, Sep 5 (IANA) Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials probing the multi-crore cash-for-school-job case in West Bengal are considering fresh custodial interrogation of former Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee in at least two cases in relation to the alleged school-job scam.

One of the two cases, sources aware of the development said, is in relation to the irregularities in recruitment of non-teaching staff of Group C and Group D categories, and the second case is in relation to recruitment for secondary and higher secondary teachers in state-run schools. The recruitments for all these categories are done by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

Last week, the ED sleuths took into custody Jiban Krishna Saha, the Trinamool Congress legislator from Burwan Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, in connection with the school job case.

Sources aware of the development said that from the integration of Saha as well as from documents seized from his residence, the investigating officials have additional clues that open additional information about Chatterjee’s involvement in the WBSCC recruitment case, and hence, a fresh round of his custodial interrogation has become necessary.

The ED, the sources added, might shortly approach a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata seeking permission for fresh custodial interrogation. Chatterjee has received bail from different courts in almost all the cases registered by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in the alleged WBSSC recruitment scam.

Earlier this week, a special CBI court in Kolkata granted bail to Chatterjee in two cases registered by the CBI in the alleged WBSSC recruitment scam.

However, even after getting bail in these two cases, Chatterjee was not able to come out of the bars immediately, and he had to continue with his judicial custody, because of separate cases registered against him relating to irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers appointed by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE).

Chatterjee had been behind bars since he was arrested in July 2022 by the officials of the ED.

Later, the CBI also showed him as arrested in the matter, which made the process of his release from prison even more complicated.

--IANS

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