Did Candidates Pay TMC MLA but Fail to Get Jobs in WBSSC Scam?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- ED is investigating the cash-for-job scandal in West Bengal.
- Numerous candidates paid money to Jiban Krishna Saha for jobs.
- Evidence includes audio recordings of candidates demanding refunds.
- Saha attempted to destroy evidence during his arrest.
- Interrogations of candidates are ongoing.
Kolkata, Sep 8 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently investigating the extensive cash-for-school-job scam in West Bengal, having pinpointed numerous candidates who reportedly paid substantial amounts to the detained Trinamool Congress legislator Jiban Krishna Saha yet failed to secure the promised employment.
According to insider sources, in the months leading up to Saha's arrest by ED officials on August 25, these candidates were exerting pressure on him to refund their payments.
One of the two mobile devices seized from Saha during his arrest on June 25 contained an audio recording where a candidate urged him to return the funds he had received for a job that was never delivered. In the conversation, the candidate, whose voice was identifiable in the clip, claimed to have paid Rs 12 lakh to Saha for a school position.
Following this, ED officials launched an investigation and located additional candidates who also did not receive school jobs despite having paid similar or even larger sums to Saha. The central agency has now chosen to interrogate these candidates for more insights.
Notably, when ED officials attempted to arrest Saha at his home on August 25, he tried to destroy both his mobile devices by tossing them into a nearby pond. However, he was unsuccessful, and both devices were ultimately confiscated.
This investigation includes 75 individuals who obtained jobs despite being on an expired panel after making large cash payments to Saha. ED officials have initiated phased interrogations of these individuals.
Saha, the TMC MLA representing the Burwan constituency, is presently in judicial custody. He had been previously arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is also conducting its own inquiry into the school job scandal.