Bengal school job case: Raj Bhavan yet to give sanction for chargesheet against Trinamool legislator

Kolkata, Nov 7 (IANS) The office of Governor C.V. Ananda Bose is yet to give sanction to the chargesheet of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Trinamool Congress legislator and former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), Manik Bhattacharya, in the case related to irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers, the central agency informed a court in Kolkata on Friday.

The CBI's counsel also informed the special court that the office of the Governor was yet to give sanction to the chargesheet against former secretary of the WBBPE, Ratna Bagchi, in the same matter.

As per protocol, the sanction to the chargesheet against Bhattacharya and Bagchi was necessary since both were holding official portfolios in an autonomous body under the state government. The sanction from the office of the Governor to such chargesheets is required within three months from their date of filing.

However, the CBI counsel informed the special court on Friday that the three-month period for the chargesheets against Bhattacharya and Bagchi is set to expire soon, and the central agency expects to get the nod anytime now.

Bhattacharya was removed from the chair of the WBBPE following an order of the Calcutta High Court. Thereafter, he was arrested and later was released on bail.

Though never arrested, Bagchi was questioned in the matter a number of times by the officials of both CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED), conducting parallel probes in the matter.

On October 3 this year, the CBI submitted its fifth and final chargesheet in the case including the names of 3 more people, i.e. Manik Bhattacharya, Ratna Bagchi, and Bivas Adhikari, whom the central investigation agency has identified as a middleman in the recruitment scam.

As per the final chargesheet of the CBI, Adhikari was the president of an association of private Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and Diploma in Elementary Education (DLED) colleges in Birbhum district, and he used that chair to push candidates for appointment as primary teachers in different state-run schools against hefty payments.

--IANS

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