SSC teachers' recruitment scam: CBI submits charge sheet, names Partha Chatterjee among 16 others

After the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the CBI has filed a charge sheet in the West Bengal SSC Teacher Recruitment scam against 16 accused including the then advisor at West Bengal Central School Service Commission in a case related to SSC Recruitment before the Special CBI Court, Alipore.

In the charge sheet, the central agency has mentioned 16 names, including former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. Along with him, names of Santi Prasad Sinha, then Advisor at West Bengal Central School Service Commission, Ashok Kr Saha, then Assistant Secretary, West Bengal Central School Service Commission, Dr Kalyanmoy Ganguly, then President of Adhoc Committee at West Bengal Board of Secondary Education among others have been mentioned in the charge sheet.

"The said case was registered on the orders of the High Court of Calcutta. It was alleged that the said accused entered into a conspiracy with one another in order to extend undue advantage in the matter of giving appointments to the unqualified candidates to the posts of Group-C staff at various schools through 3rd RLST (NT), 2016, after the expiry of the panel," read the statement.

Chatterjee, who was initially arrested by ED on July 23, was later taken into CBI custody. The accused persons who have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) are liable to get bail after 60 days in custody.

Apart from section 420 for forging fake appointment letters to ineligible people, the central agency had also slapped section 467 (forgery of valuable security) which will enable the agency to keep the accused persons under its custody for 90 days.

Senior lawyer and CPI (M) Leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said that the CBI should continue with their probe.

"It is a good thing that the CBI had submitted its charge sheet. They (CBI) should continue with their probe so that all those who are involved with the scams are strictly punished," said Bhattacharya.

Meanwhile, TMC state general secretary and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that those who will be proven ‘guilty’ the party will take action against them.

"The TMC had cleared its stand on Partha Chatterjee. The law will take its own course and anyone who is found guilty from the party will take appropriate actions," mentioned Ghosh.

However, Santi Prasad Sinha, Ashok Kr Saha, Dr Kalyanmoy Gangully and Partha Chattopadhyay all are presently in Judicial Custody.