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CBI, ED can quiz Abhishek Banerjee in school recruitment scam: Calcutta HC
The court also allowed the questioning of arrested youth TMC leader Kuntal Ghosh on his allegation of the central agencies putting pressure on him.
The Calcutta high court on Thursday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to question Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in the multi-crore bribe-for-job scam in West Bengal schools.
The single bench of justice Amrita Sinha dismissed a petition by Abhishek Banerjee, seeking recall of an earlier order of the same court that allowed CBI and ED to question him.
The court also allowed the questioning of arrested youth TMC leader Kuntal Ghosh on his allegation of the central agencies putting pressure on him. Ghosh has been accused of extorting money from job seekers by promising them employment opportunities.
Also Read: WB school recruitment scam: ₹350 crore and counting, ED tells court
“Justice Sinha read out the operative part of the order in the courtroom. The bench has dismissed the applications of Abhishek Banerjee and Kuntal Ghosh. The court has also imposed a penalty of ₹25 lakh each on them,” Firdaus Shamim, high court advocate, told reporters.
The two agencies are probing the multi-crore school recruitment scam in West Bengal since 2022. Several TMC leaders, including two legislators, have already been arrested for their alleged involvement.
Banerjee, his wife and his sister-in-law have already been questioned by federal agencies in the coal smuggling scam.
Earlier on April 13, the bench of justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had allowed the federal agencies to question Banerjee following which he moved the Supreme Court.
Justice Gangopadhyay was hearing a written complaint filed by Ghosh, who is also a prime accused in the scam, alleging that officers of the two federal agencies were pressuring him to name Banerjee in his statement.
Banerjee had earlier moved the Supreme Court which took exception to justice Gangopadhyay’s interview to a television channel wherein he spoke against the TMC MP.
“Central agencies are now free to summon Abhishek Banerjee for questioning. The Supreme Court had temporarily stayed the order of justice Gangopadhyay’s bench. Later, on April 28, the Apex court sent the matter back to the Calcutta high court but didn’t interfere with the single bench order. From that day onwards, the agencies were free to question the TMC leader,” Sabyasachi Chatterjee, high court advocate, told media persons.
On the top court’s orders on April 28, the Calcutta high court reassigned the cases related to the recruitment scam to justice Amrita Sinha’s bench.
Earlier this month justice Sinha directed Banerjee to stop being extra apprehensive and cooperate with the investigators.
“Why can’t you cooperate? What is troubling you? The court has merely ordered a probe and no one is above an investigation. Let me know what is troubling you. What is the difficulty?” the bench of justice Amrita Sinha had said on May 8.
Soon after Thursday’s order, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up its attack against the ruling TMC.
“This order was anticipated. Investigative agencies can question anybody in connection with a case. Citizens must cooperate with the agencies. But the TMC created a controversy,” Samik Bhattacharya, BJP spokesperson told the media.
Responding to this, TMC MP Shantanu Sen calling the judiciary bia said that the name of BJP leaders have also come up in different scams but they were never questioned.
“It is a court order and I wouldn’t comment on it. But one question is making rounds in the minds of people. Sudipta Sen, kingpin of the Sarada scam had named several political leaders who took money from him and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s name is there in the Sarada scam first information report, but they are not being questioned. Questions are now being raised on whether the judiciary is unbiased,” Sen told the media.
Also Read: ‘Why can’t you cooperate’: Calcutta high court to TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee
ED had in March claimed that the volume of the school recruitment scam in West Bengal, in which multiple TMC leaders have been arrested, may run up to ₹350 crores.
In May 2022, the Calcutta high court ordered CBI to probe the illegal appointment of non-teaching staff (Group C and D) and teaching staff by the West Bengal Central School Service Commission and the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. The appointees allegedly paid bribes in the range of ₹5 – ₹15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests.
ED is running a parallel probe into the cases related to money laundering.
So far, ED has arrested education minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee, TMC legislator and former president of the state primary education board, Manik Bhattacharya, former TMC youth leader Kuntal Ghosh, and TMC youth leader Santanu Banerjee.
