Bengal: Heated exchanges between lawyers in SSC recruitment case hearing at CBI court

Kolkata, Oct 28 A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Kolkata on Tuesday witnessed a heated exchange of words during the hearing of the School Service Commission (SSC) Group C recruitment case, leading to chaos inside the courtroom.

The situation reportedly turned tense after an argument broke out between the lawyer representing the accused and the CBI counsel in the packed courtroom. Witnesses said that the accused’s lawyer allegedly lunged toward the CBI counsel, forcing the latter and other agency representatives to leave the Alipore court premises temporarily.

According to sources, the SSC Group C recruitment case was being heard when the commotion occurred. Former Education Department technical officer Rajesh Layek, who is a witness for the CBI, was being questioned at the time.

The situation escalated when a verbal altercation broke out between the CBI’s Special Public Prosecutor and the lawyer of former West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) President Kalyanmoy Gangopadhyay. The argument intensified in front of the presiding judge, leading to a brief adjournment of proceedings.

It may be recalled that during the period when allegations of corruption in the SSC recruitment process surfaced, Rajesh Layek served as the technical officer responsible for issuing appointment letters to selected candidates.

On Tuesday, as the CBI counsel was questioning Layek, Gangopadhyay’s lawyer raised counter-questions, triggering a heated confrontation between both sides. The verbal spat soon descended into a commotion, and as the accused’s lawyers moved aggressively toward the CBI side, the agency’s special counsel exited the courtroom.

The court was forced to pause proceedings for a while. A section of senior lawyers present described the incident as “unprecedented” in a courtroom setting. Later, after the situation was brought under control, government lawyers returned, and the hearing resumed.

On Monday, CBI witness Rajesh Layek had told the court that during the Covid-19 lockdown, appointment letters were issued in haste to several high-profile candidates as part of the alleged SSC recruitment scam.

Layek stated that the applications of certain candidates were categorised as “high-profile cases”, leading to the issuance of appointment letters during the lockdown period -- bypassing normal procedures.

The teacher recruitment scam has rocked West Bengal politics for the past three years. Several prominent figures, including former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, and multiple senior Education Department officials, have been arrested by central probe agencies for their alleged involvement in large-scale corruption and manipulation of OMR sheets to secure teaching jobs in exchange for money.

Both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are conducting separate investigations into the multi-crore recruitment scam that has shaken the state’s education system.

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