Bengal recruitment scams: HC orders CBI to act fast

| | Kolkata
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Bengal recruitment scams: HC orders CBI to act fast

Saturday, 18 June 2022 | Saugar Sengupta | Kolkata

Days after expressing displeasure at the slow progress of investigations into the multiple recruitment scams in Bengal Calcutta High Court on Friday warned the Central Bureau of Investigations with handing over the charge of investigation to retired Joint Director Upen Biswas so as to expedite the investigation process should the Agency fail to comply with its orders.

The Court had earlier ordered the CBI to appoint a Special Investigation Team led by a Joint Director to investigate recruitment irregularities in the appointment of school teachers and non-teaching staff.

In recent weeks the Court has ordered the CBI to investigate at least half-a-dozen appointment “irregular” procedures — at Group D and C level, apart from selection tests of Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary teachers—involving thousands of aspirants asking Agency to even investigate top bureaucrats and ministers even if it meant taking them in into custody.  The Court’s Friday’s remarks came as CBI dilly-dallied with  appointment SIT headed by a Joint Director as directed by the Bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay. “The Court told the CBI counsel if the Agency does not appoint a Jt Director then the Judge would do so by appointing Upen Biswas a retired Jt Director,” said an advocate.

Subsequently the CBI counsel said that the Agency would indeed appoint a Jt Director to lead SIT. Biswas also a petitioner in the case had successfully investigated the Bihar Animal Husbandry scam in the 1990s.  He had earlier complained that he was approached by a person with offer providing teachers’ jobs to candidates in exchange of cash. “I was informed that teachers’ jobs were being sold for Rs 10 to Rs 30 lakhs,” Biswas said adding, “a probe Agency must have the will to act… as we did in Bihar … we did not listen to any advice … probed our cases and secured conviction in all the 29 cases.”

The Court also ordered that no officers of the SIT would be transferred before the completion of the investigation. The SIT would function under the supervision of the Court.

Earlier a judicial committee appointed by Court had found massive irregularities in appointment of teachers and Group D and C level staff. Names of State ministers Partho Chatterjee and Paresh Adhikari have got embroiled in case.

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