Protesters waved slippers and raised ‘chorr’ (thief) slogans for arrested Trinamool Congress MLA Manik Bhattacharya when he was being taken to Bankshall Court in Kolkata on Tuesday. Bhattacharya, who represents the Palashipara assembly constituency, was remanded in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for 14 days in connection with the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, protesters - who are said to be workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - can be heard slogans, “Dekho dekho kaun aya? Chor aya chor aya (Look, the thief is here).”
Bhattacharya, the former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) hours ago on grounds of non-cooperation with the agency’s probe in connection with the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.
{{/usCountry}}Bhattacharya, the former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) hours ago on grounds of non-cooperation with the agency’s probe in connection with the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.
{{/usCountry}}He is the second Bengal MLA after Partha Chatterjee to be arrested in connection with the case. Bhattacharya was held by the central probe agency on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.
The ED is tracking the money trail in the scam, while the CBI is looking into the alleged irregularities committed in the recruitment. It is alleged that several people who fared poorly in the recruitment examinations were hired as teachers in exchange for lakhs of rupees, while the eligible candidates were overlooked.
In July, the ED arrested former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee in the scam.
(With agency inputs)