CBI Investigates Teachers’ Role in West Bengal School Employment Scam

The CBI is investigating a few teachers working in government schools in West Bengal who have acted as middlemen in the cash-for-school employment scam. According to a report by IANS, sources claimed that during the questioning of several candidates who were suspected to have received their appointments after paying large sums, the role of professors as intermediaries came to light.

They added that the central agency is investigating the roles played in hiring by the two non-teaching staff members and eleven teachers employed by state-run schools. These are some of the 35 new intermediaries whose identities have recently come to light in the course of an investigation.

Investigating officials revealed that different rates were charged for different postings. The highest amount was charged for postings closest to the residence of the candidates.

CBI officials have prima facie identified around 2,500 candidates who got jobs against payments in 2016 alone. The CBI as well as the ED in their separate charge sheets in the school job case, have identified former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Secretary General Partha Chatterjee as the mastermind in the entire case.

In their charge sheet, the central agencies have also attempted to demonstrate how simple it was for powerful intermediaries to get to Partha Chatterjee’s home. Since 2022, Partha Chatterjee has been detained by the ED in connection with the case, as stated in a report by IANS.