West Bangal / ED now summons TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya in West Bengal SSC scam

West Bangal | Another MLA of Mamta government may be charged in the West Bengal SSC recruitment scam case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday summoned another Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Manik Bhattacharya for questioning at the agency's Kolkata office on Wednesday. Manik Bhattacharya is the former head of the Bengal Board of Primary Education.

Bhattacharya has been summoned by the ED at a time when current Industries Minister and former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee have already been arrested in the same case. Manik Bhattacharya is the MLA from Nadia district. Bhattacharya, former chief of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and MLA from Nadia district, has been asked to appear before its officials at the ED's office at CGO Complex on Wednesday afternoon, sources said. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged aide Arpita Mukherjee, arrested in connection with an alleged scam in recruitment of teachers in schools.

Chatterjee was brought to Kolkata at 6.30 am after a thorough medical check-up at AIIMS Bhubaneswar and then taken directly to the ED's office at CGO Complex. they are being interrogated. On the request of the central agency, a special ED court on Monday sent both Chatterjee and Mukherjee to its custody till August 3. The probe agency had argued that the two needed to be interrogated to find out where the money involved in the alleged scam in teacher recruitment had gone.

Chatterjee was produced digitally in the special court under the orders of the Calcutta High Court, while Mukherjee was taken to the court and produced before a judge. The High Court had on Sunday directed that Chatterjee be taken to AIIMS in Bhubaneswar where specialist doctors of various departments would conduct a medical examination on Monday.

The ED had challenged the order of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (In-Charge) court to send Chatterjee to the West Bengal government's SSKM Hospital. His lawyers had claimed that he was ill. The agency had insisted that the court could not direct which hospitals to take.

Doctors at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar said that Chatterjee is suffering from serious ailments, but he does not need to be admitted to the hospital immediately. Chatterjee was arrested on Saturday in connection with the probe into irregularities in the recruitment drive of the School Service Commission (SSC). When the alleged scam in appointments took place, the senior Trinamool Congress leader was in charge of the education department.

The ED had raided Bhattacharya's residential premises on July 22. He had also raided other people allegedly involved in the recruitment scam. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to immediately sack minister Partha Chatterjee. In a letter to Mamata, Adhir said the "irregularities" in the recruitment process by the School Service Commission (SSC) is "an open truth".