Bengal Job Scam Case: TMC Leader Shantanu Banerjee Produced Before Court

Shantanu Banerjee, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth wing leader, appeared in court on Saturday after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in connection with the state school education department bribe-for-job scam.

Shantanu Banerjee was arrested by the ED on Friday after an eight-hour interrogation in Kolkata.

The case was filed on the orders of the Calcutta High Court against the then-Minister-in-Charge of the West Bengal Department of School Education and others on allegations of illegal appointment of Assistant Teachers for 11th and 12th grade classes.

It was also contended that the former West Bengal Central School Service Commission Advisor was part of a network that illegally accommodated undeserving candidates for appointment in SSC scam cases.

Former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee are being investigated in connection with a recruitment scam at the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

Last year, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) filed a prosecution complaint before the PMLA Special Court in Kolkata against eight accused in the West Bengal Teachers Recruitment Scam, including Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee.

Santi Prasad Sinha, Ashok Kr Saha, Kalyanmoy Ganguly, Parna Bose, Samarjit Acharya, Prasanna Kumar Roy, Pradip Singh, Jnui Das, Md Azad Ali Mirza, Imam Momin, and Rohit Kumar Jha were named accused in the chargesheet.

Six entities were used for money laundering, according to ED officials. To launder the money, Partha and Arpita used M/s Echhay Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Ananta Texfab Pvt Ltd, Symbiosis Merchants Pvt Ltd, Sentry Engineering Pvt Ltd, Viewmore Highrise Pvt Ltd, and APA Utility Services.

In October 2022, the CBI filed a chargesheet against 12 people, including Subiresh Bhattachary, the former chairman of the WBSSC, in connection with the alleged illegal appointment of assistant teachers through the WBSSC.

In the chargesheet filed before an Alipore special judge, the CBI also named a former assistant secretary of the WBSSC, an ex-adviser, two former programme officers of the commission, and six others.