It all began in 2014 when the West Bengal government conducted the State Level Selection Test (SLST). And a notification was released for the employment of teachers in state-run institutions. After two years, in 2016, the hiring procedure began. And then came forward the alleged scam in the hiring process. A number of petitions regarding alleged irregularities in the hiring process were submitted to the Calcutta High Court.
In the Calcutta High Court, petitioners claimed that students with much lower exam scores had been placed higher on the merit list. They also stated that letters of appointment were sent to those students. Who scored much lower and yet made through the merit list, somehow.
Central Bureau of Investigation alleges that in the year 2014. The selection process of the Teacher eligibility Test had been tampered with in order to deprive the eligible candidates. Additionally, it indicated that candidates who failed the TETs. Or were disqualified for the 2014 TET received jobs as assistant teachers in primary schools. According to the report, several students just filled out their personal information on their answer sheets. Later on, these students were hired as assistant teachers.
SSC Recruitment Scam
In 2016, the West Bengal government asked SSC to hire 13,000 Group-D workers for state-run/aided schools. In 2019, at least 25 individuals were allegedly appointed despite the panel making the appointments had already expired. Over 500 people, according to the petitioners, were appointed after the SSC panel’s term expired and were made, the officially salaried employees of the state government.
In the course of a series of investigations by a single-judge bench of the Calcutta high court and a retired-judge-led committee appointed by a division bench over the past six months, at least 609 illegal appointments in group D employees’ posts, 381 in clerical (group-C) posts, and an undetermined number of posts for assistant teachers for classes IX and X at government-sponsored and aided schools have so far been unearthed in West Bengal during 2019–20.
As a result of the current procedures, those who obtained their positions illegally have been fired by court orders and are required to repay every rupee they have earned since their appointment. They are also required to face the CBI to explain how they managed to bag their appointments.
Many of the top leaders of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and close confidantes of chief minister Mamata Banerjee have been called by CBI for questioning over multiple times during the course of investigation. Several TMC ministers’ name came into the limelight.
The ED raided the offices of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission’s advisor Dr. SP Sinha. The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education’s former president Kalyanmoy Ganguly; TMC’s Manik Bhattacharya; TMC’s Partha Chatterjee; Partha Chatterjee’s close aide Arpita Mukherjee; Minister of State for Education Paresh C. Adhikary; Chandan Mondal, an agent in selling jobs of teachers; Kalyanmay Bhattacharya, son-in-law of Partha Bhattacharya; Saumitra Sarkar, former President of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission; and Alok Kumar Sarkar, Deputy Director, School Education Department.
Partha Chatterjee’s SSC Scam
The alleged scam had taken place when Partha Chatterjee was the education minister. On Friday, senior ED officials arrived at the residence of Partha Chatterjee along with central forces. And after conducting multiple raids at various premises linked to the recruitment scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission, former Education Minister was sacked by ED on Saturday.
After around 26 hours of grilling at his residence and other premises, the ED recovered huge cash amounting to approximately Rs 20 crore from the residential premises of Arpita Mukherjee, who is a close associate of Partha Chatterjee. The cash is allegedly the proceeds of the SSC Scam, according to a statement from the central agency.
A total of more than 20 mobile phones that were found on Arpita Mukherjee’s property. Which are now being determined. According to the agency. From the numerous locations of the people connected to the scam. The ED has also discovered some incriminating documents, records, information on dubious companies, electronic gadgets, foreign currency, and gold.
Chatterjee was later produced before a judge in the Bankshall court in Kolkata. And sent to the ED custody for two days.
