Trial Commences Today in Bengal School Job Scandal

Key Takeaways

Trial in West Bengal school job scam starts.
Witness statements to be recorded in-camera.
ED case involves 53 accused, including notable politicians.
Significant cash and gold seized from accused.
Accusations against trusts related to misappropriated funds.

Kolkata, Jan 14 (NationPress) The trial process concerning the Enforcement Directorate (ED)-registered case linked to the alleged cash-for-school job scam in West Bengal is set to commence on Tuesday.

This follows the completion of the charges framing process in the ED case at a special court in Kolkata last week.

The trial will take place in the same court with the recording of witness statements being conducted in-camera within a closed courtroom. On Tuesday, statements from three witnesses will be recorded, with two additional witnesses set to provide their statements on January 20 and January 27.

Sources indicate that the testimonies of these three witnesses are pivotal to the case. Initially, all witness statements will be collected, after which they will undergo examination and cross-examination by both the prosecution and defense counsels.

All defendants listed in the subsequent charge sheets filed by the ED are mandated to be present at the special court throughout the trial.

Of the 53 individuals accused in the case, 29 are private individuals, while the remaining 24 are corporate entities or trusts.

The ED has submitted a total of five charge sheets in this matter. Notable figures among the accused include the former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee, along with party legislator and former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), Manik Bhattacharya.

Chatterjee's close associate, Arpita Mukherjee, whose residences were raided by ED officials leading to the seizure of significant cash and gold in July 2022, is also implicated in the case. Additionally, Chatterjee’s son-in-law, Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, has been named as an accused.

Among the trusts accused in the charge sheet is the Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust, named in honor of Chatterjee’s late wife. The primary accusation against this trust is that illegal proceeds from the school job case were misrepresented as donations to the trust and subsequently diverted.