The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has framed charges in the Bengal teacher recruitment scam. Former education minister Partha Chatterjee, his aide Arpita Mukherjee, and ex-education board president Manik Bhattacharya are among the 54 accused.
Officials revealed that Sujaykrishna Bhadra, charged earlier in July 2023, is also on the list. Bhadra, linked to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee, had told the media, “Abhishek Banerjee is my boss. Agencies are targeting others because they can’t touch him.” The TMC claims that central agencies are being used by the BJP for political vendetta.
Despite being questioned by the ED and CBI, no chargesheet has been filed against Abhishek Banerjee or his wife.
The ED framed charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a Kolkata court. The trial will now proceed. Charges have also been filed against several shell companies linked to the scam.
The CBI, which began investigating the bribe-for-job scam in 2022, has also filed multiple chargesheets. The Supreme Court granted bail to Chatterjee in the ED case in December. However, the Calcutta High Court denied him bail in the CBI case. The apex court directed the ED to frame charges by December 31, 2024.
The charges, filed on Monday and Tuesday, detail assets worth ₹103.10 crore linked to the accused. These include cash, gold, jewelry, properties, 35 bank accounts, 31 life insurance policies, and several shell companies.
In court on Tuesday, Arpita Mukherjee denied ownership of the cash and jewelry recovered from her properties. Manik Bhattacharya, present in court on Monday, also denied involvement. Partha Chatterjee and Sujaykrishna Bhadra attended proceedings virtually.
The ED arrested Chatterjee and Mukherjee in July 2022, recovering ₹50 crore in cash, gold, and foreign currency from Mukherjee’s properties. Investigators found she was the director of five companies and owned several properties linked to the scam.
The Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI probe in May 2022, focusing on the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission and the Board of Secondary Education between 2014 and 2021. During this period, ineligible candidates allegedly paid ₹5-15 lakh bribes to secure jobs in state-run schools.
The ED has now put the scam’s key players on trial.
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