Calcutta High Court Directs CBI To Investigate Municipal Recruitment Scam In West Bengal

The Calcutta High Court has ordered the CBI to look into an alleged scam in the recruitment process of municipal positions.

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has ordered the CBI to look into an alleged scam in the recruitment process of municipal positions in West Bengal, citing the Enforcement Directorate's discovery of a bribery scheme in school job appointments as evidence. Following the detection of a possible scam in the recruitment of municipal jobs in West Bengal, the Calcutta High Court has instructed the CBI to initiate an investigation into the matter, as reported by PTI.

During the court proceedings, the Enforcement Directorate informed the high court that individuals such as Ayan Sil, who was arrested in connection with the school job bribery scandal, were also reportedly involved in unlawful activities concerning the hiring process of clerks, sweepers, peons, drivers, and other positions in different municipalities across West Bengal.

"I direct CBI to carry on an investigation in the Municipality Recruitment Scam also which have got common agents like Ayan Sil and common beneficiaries and the victim in both the cases (that is the Education Scam and the Municipality Recruitment Scam) is public/common people at large," Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay said in the order.

In a directive issued on Friday, Justice Gangopadhyay ordered the CBI to file an FIR if deemed necessary to investigate the alleged municipality recruitment scam, which was brought to light in an application submitted by the ED. The high court also instructed the DGP of West Bengal and the state's chief secretary to instruct all relevant departments to provide assistance to the CBI and ED if requested during their investigation into the suspected scam in municipal recruitments.

The court has set a deadline of April 28 for the CBI to submit a report on the actions taken based on its order. According to the ED's application, while investigating the money trail in the teachers' appointment scam, it discovered a possible scam in municipal recruitments in the state.

The ED proposed that a separate FIR be filed to investigate the alleged municipality recruitment scam under the relevant provisions of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act by the CBI.

The ED also noted that due to the commingling of the proceeds of crime from the teachers' recruitment scam and the suspected irregularities in municipal recruitments, it had shared detailed information with the CBI and requested that the latter also investigate the latter.

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