The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is delving deeper into a sprawling cash-for-jobs scandal in West Bengal, revealing shocking details as their investigation progresses.
Sources familiar with the probe have disclosed that the CBI has identified 35 new middlemen allegedly involved in facilitating illicit transactions between job seekers and high-ranking officials within the state's education departments.
Over the past months, the CBI has interrogated around 2,300 individuals implicated in securing teaching positions through unlawful means, reportedly involving substantial financial exchanges. According to sources, these middlemen played pivotal roles in orchestrating connections between candidates and influential officials, negotiating prices for securing jobs, collecting payments, and delivering them to the masterminds behind the scam.
The agency noted that many of these newly identified middlemen wield considerable political influence in their districts. Plans are underway to summon and question them to uncover more about their roles and the extent of their connections within the alleged racket.
Concurrently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), conducting a parallel investigation, has made significant progress. They have identified 222 individuals who were appointed to teaching posts in state-run schools using an expired panel. Among them, 183 were hired as secondary school teachers and 38 as higher secondary teachers.
The ED's investigation has pointed to SP Sinha's involvement, who headed the screening committee of the West Bengal School Service Commission during the tenure of former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. Chatterjee is currently in custody over his alleged involvement in the scandal, having overseen the commission's operations during the period under scrutiny.
These revelations underscore the gravity of the ongoing probes, aiming to unravel the full scope of corruption and irregularities plaguing the recruitment processes within West Bengal's educational institutions.
