Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha for questioning in connection with its investigation into the alleged irregularities in the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam. Saha has been instructed to appear before ED officials at the agency's Calcutta office on Monday at 11 am.
Saha's arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 17, 2023, from his residence in Baarwan marked a significant turn in the multi-crore jobs scam investigation. However, he was later released by the probe agency. The scam first gained attention after the CBI arrested former state education minister Partha Chatterjee and several officials from the West Bengal School Service Commission in July 2022, accusing them of illegal teacher recruitment.
The ED recently conducted raids on a close associate of Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata, seizing approximately Rs 21 crore in cash and jewelry worth over Rs 1 crore from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Chatterjee.
Both the CBI and ED are investigating the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Group C and D staff and teachers in government-run and aided schools in West Bengal.
The roots of the scandal trace back to 2014 when a notification for the appointment of teachers through the State Level Selection Test (SLST) was issued. However, the recruitment process did not commence until 2016, during Partha Chatterjee's tenure as the state's Education Minister.
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