Bengal Guv sanctions prosecution against two accused in school job case

Kolkata, Nov 18 West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, on Tuesday, granted sanction for prosecution against two key accused persons named in the chargesheet of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case related to irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers in state-run schools.

The two accused persons are Trinamool Congress legislator and former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), Manik Bhattacharya, and former secretary of the WBBPE, Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi.

“The governor has granted sanction for prosecution under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, against (1) Manik Bhattacharya, the then President, West Bengal Board of Primary Education, and (2) Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi, the then Secretary, West Bengal Board of Primary Education, pursuant to the request made by CBI based on the investigation and final report,” the statement issued by the office of the Governor on Tuesday night.

The sanction came a couple of weeks after CBI informed the special court in Kolkata that the office of the Governor was yet to give sanction to the charge sheet against Bhattacharya and Bagchi in the matter.

As per protocol, the sanction to the charge sheet against Bhattacharya and Bagchi was necessary since both were holding official portfolios in an autonomous body under the state government.

The sanction to such charge sheets is required within three months from the date of filing.

Since CBI submitted its fifth and final chargesheet in the case including the names of three more people, i.e. Manik Bhattacharya, Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi, and Bivas Adhikari, whom the central investigation agency has identified as a middleman in the recruitment scam, on October 3, the sanction has come well within the deadline of three months from their date of filing of the charge sheet.

As per the final charge sheet 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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