The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Manik Bhattacharya, who was the former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, for his alleged role in the School Service Commission recruitment scam in the state.
Bhattacharya, who was arrested after being questioned for several hours on Monday night, will be produced before a special court on Tuesday. After Partha Chatterjee, Bhattacharya is the second TMC MLA to be arrested in the alleged scam related to the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal schools.
The ED is probing money laundering charges in the alleged scam in recruitments conducted by the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Board of Primary Education.
Bhattacharya, who was removed from his post as chairman of the state primary education board by the Calcutta High Court in June, had been on the ED’s radar for quite a while. The CBI too had issued a lookout notice against him.
The Calcutta High Court, in a slew of writ petitions, had recently directed the CBI to carry out investigations into the recruitment scam of Group ‘C’ & ‘D’ staff, assistant teachers of Classes IX-XII and primary teachers.
Who is Manik Bhattacharya?
Manik Bhattacharya is the retired principal of Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College and the former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education. As per his election affidavit, his total declared assets are Rs 3 crore, which includes Rs 2.3 crore in moveable assets and Rs 66.4 lakh in immovable assets. His total declared income is Rs 24.3 lakh, of which Rs 21.9 lakh is self-income.
On June 20, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had ordered Bhattacharya’s removal from the post of president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, holding him responsible for illegalities committed in the appointment of at least 269 teachers in primary schools sponsored or aided by the state government.
