Bengal school jobs scam: More trouble for Partha, ED says seized documents link him with TET scam
West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, who is currently in the custody of the Enforcement Director (ED) in connection with recruitment of teachers and staff in government-aided schools, can find himself in more trouble with the central agency claiming to find his involvement in alleged irregularities in appointment of teachers through Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in 2014.
The Calcutta High Court had ordered a CBI probe into the 2014 Primary Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and dismissed 269 people who were recruited through the test. Chatterjee was then the state education minister.
The seizure list of recoveries from Chatterjee’s house in Naktala indicates his involvement in the TET corruption too, said an ED official.
According to the ED, documents relating to revised result of TeT 2012, a note of president of West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), a copy of WBBPE chart relating to proposed teachers, their posting, and a copy of a paper relating to the committee of WBSSC were recovered from the minister’s house during the search. The documents related to the TeT are mentioned in serial number 15 of the ED’s seizure list.
Chatterjee, who was brought back to Kolkata at 6.30 am after a thorough check-up at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, was straightaway taken to the ED office at the CGO complex here, where he was questioned. His arrested aide Arpita Mukherjee was also questioned. On Monday, a special court remanded both Partho Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee in the ED custody till August 3.
Sources in the ED said that a black diary, purportedly belonging to the Department of Higher Education and School Education, was found from Arpita Mukherjee’s residence during the raid. They are trying to find out if the diary was the department’s official document and why it was kept at Arpita Mukherjee’s south Kolkata residence. The diary contains several numbers and it has different handwriting, said ED sources.
The ED has also reportedly recovered a bunch of papers relating to transfer and candidate’s admit card. Officials have recovered five deeds in the name of Echhay Entertainment Pvt Ltd from Partha Chatterjee’s house and six deeds in the name of Arpita Mukherjee. A deed of one Sentry Engineering private limited where Arpita is a director, was also recovered.
“Mukherjee is cooperating in the probe and has revealed more information that could be helpful in further investigation into the money trail,” an ED official said.
“The seized documents make it clear that the association of Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee goes back to at least 2012, and their financial interests have been converging since then… Both are involved for the commission of offence of money laundering by indulging in criminal conspiracy for the object of illegally giving jobs for the post of assistant teachers and also in primary teachers, and generating huge proceeds of crime and for having knowingly indulge, assisted, involved and being a party in the process…”the ED told the court while seeking their custody.
