Bengal Recruitment Scam: ED Raids Premises Of Former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee's Close Aide

The raids are being conducted in connection with the West Bengal teachers recruitment scam at 5 different locations. 

Ex-West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. ( Image Source :PTI )

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted raids on close aide of ex-West Bengal Education Minister and imprisoned ruling Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee in Kolkata. The raids are being conducted in connection with the West Bengal teachers recruitment scam at 5 different locations. 

Earlier in 2022, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Partha Chatterjee in connection with the School Service Commission (SSC) fraud in West Bengal. The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed the recovery of Rs 21 crore in cash and jewels worth more than Rs 1 crore from the Kolkata apartment of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.

Apart from searching the residence of Chatterjee's close associate Rajeev Dey, ED officials also raided Dey's Shriram Construction office. 

As per the ED sources, Dey has invested a huge amount of black money in the market. Apart from this, the central investigating agencies also claimed that there are several benami properties registered in his name.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader in the West Bengal legislature and senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday stated that the West Bengal government's "job for sale" nexus is extremely active, posting an audio tape of the alleged crime on his social media account.

The audio clip shared by the BJP leader shows a conversation between Kalipada Pati, a TMC leader and an agent of TMC (as claimed by the BJP leader) leaders Manik Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee, and a job aspirant who paid Rs 14 lakhs for a teacher's position in a government school but was not appointed.

The 'WB Govt Jobs for Sale' nexus is very much active.

Listen to the conversation between Kalipada Pati and a client (job aspirant).

TMC Leader Kalipada Pati has quite a reputation of being the Agent of Manik Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee in Dantan; West Medinipur… pic.twitter.com/PDP3VDJB2b

— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) February 15, 2024

"The 'WB Govt Jobs for Sale' nexus is very much active. Listen to the conversation between Kalipada Pati and a client (job aspirant). TMC Leader Kalipada Pati has quite a reputation of being the Agent of Manik Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee in Dantan; West Medinipur district. The conversation is about returning of Rs. 14 lakhs, paid in advance for securing a job as a Teacher in a WB Govt School, which hasn't matured yet. Kalipada Pati can be heard assuring the desperate client about the possibility of appointment in some time. The Teacher Recruitment Scam is a harsh reality that is still in existence and all the perpetrators involved belong to the TMC Party. Since Dantan is on the Odisha border, the language spoken here is a colloquial mix of local accented Bengali with a heavy influence of Oriya. The subtitles have been provided for convenience:- Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (India)," Suvendu said in a post on 'X' on Thursday.