Around Rs 250 crore was generated by various accused like former West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee in the primary teachers’ recruitment scam. The amount could go up to Rs 500 crore as more revelations are being made day by day, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe has found.
The ED while probing this case further found links of one of the accused, Ayan Sil, to another scam in recruitments in various municipalities in West Bengal. Sil has revealed to the ED that Rs 200 crore has been collected from candidates in the same. All of this is mentioned in the status report of ED submitted before the High Court on April 21, following which the CBI has now lodged a fresh case in the municipality recruitment scam in West Bengal.
“Investigation has revealed that proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 250 crore has been generated by various accused persons in the primary teachers’ recruitment scam and it has been further utilised for personal use or siphoned off or invested in movable or immovable properties. Investigation has further revealed that the proceeds of crime have also been invested by some of the accused persons in the Bengali film industry Tollywood and efforts are on to identify the same,” the ED status report before the court says.
Importantly, the ED in its status report further said the proceeds of crime being generated by various persons involved in the case “is only increasing day by day and is likely to double the amount already identified.” It says the total seizure and attachment out of the generated proceeds of crime stands at Rs 111 crore so far.
The CBI and ED have arrested former West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee, Arpita Mukherjee, TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya, Kuntal Ghosh, Santanu Bhattacharya and Ayan Sil in this case.
The New Rs 200 Cr Scam
ED says during searches on Ayan Sil’s premises on March 19-20 this year, documents have been recovered which reveal that the scam is not limited to the recruitment of teachers but also covered several appointments by the various municipalities. “The interrogation of Ayan Sil revealed that an amount of Rs 200 crore has been collected from candidates towards giving them illegal appointments in various municipalities of West Bengal,” the ED has mentioned. All this forms part of the FIR lodged by the CBI.
Importantly, the ED says political leaders are also involved in the new scam as Ayan Sil “and other high functionaries including public servants and political leaders hatched the criminal conspiracy among themselves including private persons.” Sil, who was the Director of ABS Infozone Pvt Ltd, was responsible for printing, designing and evaluation of OMR sheets of candidates and manipulated the same to facilitate the illegal appointments.
“It has been noticed that several persons including Ayan Sil, other agents and political persons have obtained the bribe money both in the illegal recruitment of teachers in the education sector as well as for securing various employments in various municipalities…and even the proceeds of crime of Teachers Recruitment Scam and Municipality Recruitment Scam have got intermingled on account of common agents and common beneficiaries,” the ED has mentioned. ED asked the CBI to step in and lodge an FIR regarding the latest scam too as the “victim in both the cases is the same — public or common people at large.”
According to the ED, the illegal appointments were made in various municipalities like Kanchrapara, New Barackpur, Kamarhati, Titagarh, Baranagar, Halisahar, South Dum Dum, Dum Dum, Taki etc and ranges from recruitment of mazdoors, sweepers, clerks, peons, ambulance attendants, pump operators, helpers, sanitary assistants, drivers and assistant mistries.
The CBI on April 22 lodged an FIR against Ayan Sil and other unidentified persons.
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