More TROUBLE for Partha Chatterjee, ED seeks info on teachers' appointment from Bengal education body

Kolkata: In big trouble for former West Bengal minister and arrested TMC leader Partha Chatterjee, the Enforcement Directorate has now sought information from the West Bengal Board of Primary Education about the appointment of primary teachers since 2011 in connection with its ongoing probe into a school jobs scam.

According to reports, the central agency wrote to the chairman of the board for soft copies of the appointments-related details by Thursday. A source in the education body said officials concerned in primary schools in all the districts have been asked to furnish the information on time.

Partha Chatterjee is currently in the custody of the Enforcement Director (ED) in connection with the recruitment of teachers and staff in government-aided schools. The central probe agency has claimed to have found several incriminating pieces of evidence pointing to his involvement in alleged irregularities in the appointment of teachers through Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in 2014.

The Calcutta High Court had earlier ordered a CBI probe into the 2014 Primary Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) and dismissed 269 people who were recruited through the test. The appointments were made during Chatterjee’s tenure as state education minister.

The seizure list of recoveries from Chatterjee’s house in Naktala has established his involvement in the TET corruption too, the agency has claimed. The ED had earlier arrested suspended Trinamool Congress leader and former state minister Partha Chatterjee, and his close associate Arpita Mukherjee for their alleged involvement in the multi-crore scam.