On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that it recovered two black journals from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee in Kolkata which bears the details of the alleged School Service Commission (SSC) fraud in West Bengal. One of the journals recovered from Mukherjee’s Diamond City South apartment has all the details of the West Bengal government’s department of higher education and school education.
According to reports, the black diary has 40 pages which consist of entries about the illegal appointment of teachers against bribes, collection of cash, and other details. The ED mentioned in the court on Monday that the journal entries will be crucial in prosecuting West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his close assistant Arpita Mukherjee in the alleged recruitment scam.
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The ED officials also confirmed that they found admit cards of Group D staff employees at Mukherjee’s apartment. This evidence, the ED said, could help them understand the active involvement of the accused Partha Chatterjee in the scam. The ED on July 22 recovered cash of more than 20 crore rupees and 20 mobile phones from Mukherjee’s house. The money is allegedly the profits of the SSC Scam, according to a statement from the central agency. The ED also conducted a raid on the properties of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee as part of an investigation in this case.
The action was taken months after the Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI to look into the recruiting scandal involving Group “C” and “D” employees, Assistant Teachers of classes 9th to 12th, and primary teachers. The ED is probing matters involving the unlawful recruitment of non-teaching personnel, teaching staff, and primary school teachers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Chatterjee and Mukherjee were arrested last week and have been detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till August 3. The Calcutta court also ordered medical examinations of both arrested defendants after every 48 hours. Reports mention that the Court further directed the ED not to question Arpita between the hours of 9 pm and 6 am.
The West Bengal Teacher’s recruitment scam, more commonly referred to as the SSC scam, looks into the recruitment process conducted through the State Level Selection Test (SLT) conducted by SSC from 2014 to 2016. Candidates who appeared for the State Level Selection Test (SLST) exam had alleged that many candidates who secured fewer marks ended up with higher ranks on the merit list. They further stated that the candidates who were not on the merit list were also sent appointment letters.
Also, in the year 2016, multiple allegations of corruption cropped up regarding the recruitment of Group C and Group D employees in secondary and higher secondary schools under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. The matter came to light in March this year after irregularities were noticed in the recruitment process of teachers in the state government schools.
