A special PMLA court in Kolkata on Tuesday extended Trinamool Congress MLA Manik Bhattacharya’s judicial custody till October 28.
Bhattacharya, the former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 11 in connection with the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff of government-aided schools.
Seeking extension of Bhattacharya’s judicial custody by another 14 days, the lawyers representing the ED alleged that the TMC MLA arranged training for future primary teachers in return for money between 2018 and 2022.
The ED’s lawyers alleged that Bhattacharya would make arrangements for offline admission if they could not get online admission for Diploma in Elementary Education, the training required to become a primary teacher. “There are at least 600 colleges offering this training in the state. Manik Bhattacharya used to charge Rs 5,000 from each of the candidates for offline admission,” the ED alleged.
Earlier, the ED had claimed that it had found names and roll numbers of about 4,000 TET candidates from CDs recovered from Manik’s house. On Tuesday, the ED informed the court that out of the 4,000 candidates, only 2,500 got the job in TET.
SSC candidates’ stir enters 590th day
The protest by SSC empanelled candidates, seeking jobs in government primary and upper primary schools in the state, in the Esplanade area of the city entered its 590th day on Tuesday.
The protesting SSC candidates alleged that they were deprived of their legitimate jobs, and reiterated that the protest would continue till their demand is met.
“We have been on the road during Durga Puja and Diwali. We have no other way than to continue with our agitation. We want nothing but our jobs that were given to other candidates in exchange for money. We want justice,” said a candidate.
