A former minister, an MLA and four senior education officials are now under arrest in connection with alleged irregularities in school recruitments and laundering of money said to have been obtained by selling jobs.
A list of those in the net and their alleged role according to the investigating agencies.
Partha Chatterjee
Minister of school education (May 20, 2014-May 10, 2021), minister of industry, commerce and enterprise (May 10, 2021-July 28, 2022)
- Arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on July 22, 2022 and by the CBI on September 16, 2022
- Charged by the ED with sections of money laundering and by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the appointment of staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission during his tenure as the school education minister
- The CBI chargesheet mentions sections of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, common intention and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018, while the ED’s chargesheet mentions sections of the Money Laundering Act
- Present location: Presidency correctional home
Arpita Mukherjee
Model-turned-actor, a close associate of Partha Chatterjee
- Arrested by the ED on July 22, 2022
- Charged with sections of money laundering after she allegedly failed to explain the source and income of Rs 49.8 crore and gold found in two of her flats
- Chargesheet: Mentioned in chargesheet submitted by the ED
- Present location: Alipore correctional home
Shanti Prasad Sinha
Secretary, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (2011-12), chairman, school service commission (SSC) advisory committee (2016-21), convenor of the five-member committee (2019-21), taught mathematics at Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College till 2012
- Arrested by the CBI on August 8, 2022
- CBI has registered two cases against him. In one, he has been charged with allegedly dishonestly extending undue advantage in giving illegal appointment to assistant teachers in Classes IX and X and offering appointments to the undeserving, non-listed and low-ranked candidates, CBI officers said. He has been charged with sections of cheating, criminal conspiracy and that of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018. In another FIR initiated by the CBI, the central agency has alleged that he collected vacancies of Group C staff even after the expiry of their panel on May 18, 2019 and allegedly, in connivance with others, issued recommendations of unsuccessful candidates for those vacancies by issuing fictitious memos of the regional commissions.
- Chargesheet: Has been chargesheeted by the CBI in one of the cases dealing with the alleged irregular recruitment of Group C staff in a government-aided school in Bengal. He has been charged under sections of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, common intention and Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018
- President location: Presidency correctional home
Ashok Kumar Saha
Secretary, SSC; chairman, SSC (January-December 2020)
- Arrested by the CBI on August 8, 2022
- Charged with allegations of illegal recruitment of Group C staff in government-aided schools in Bengal under sections of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, common intention and Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018
- Chargesheet: Mentioned in a CBI chargesheet
- Present location: Presidency correctional home
Kalyanmoy Ganguly
President of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (2012-June 2022)
- Arrested by the CBI on September 15, 2022
- Charged with allegations of illegal recruitment of Group C staff in government-aided schools in Bengal under sections of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, common intention and Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018
- Chargesheet: Mentioned in a chargesheet submitted by the CBI
- Present location: Presidency correctional home
Subires Bhattacharyya
- VC, North Bengal University (2018-2022), chairman of the West Bengal School Service Commission (2014-2018), principal-in-charge of Fakir Chand College in Diamond Harbour (2014)
- Arrested by the CBI on September 19, 2022
- Arrested in connection with the alleged illegal appointment of assistant teachers for Classes IX and X of government-aided schools by the SSC when he was its chairman. He has been charged under sections on cheating and criminal conspiracy, and also under the Prevention of Corruption Act
- Chargesheet: Not submitted
- Present location: Presidency correctional home
Manik Bhattacharya
President of the state primary education board (2011-August 2022), Trinamul MLA from Palashipara, Nadia; former principal of Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College
- Arrested by ED on October 10, 2022
- Arrested in connection with the alleged illegal appointment of teachers in lieu of money in government-aided schools
- Chargesheet: Not submitted
- Present location: ED custody at Salt Lake CGO Complex
