Did Candidates Pay Money to Trinamool Legislator for Jobs in West Bengal?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- ED's investigation into job corruption highlights systemic issues.
- 75 candidates allegedly involved in bribery for school jobs.
- Middlemen played a significant role in the recruitment scandal.
- Transparency is essential to uphold public trust in government processes.
- Legal actions emphasize the need for accountability in recruitment.
Kolkata, Sep 2 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued notices to candidates who allegedly made payments to Trinamool Congress legislator Jiban Krishna Saha in exchange for securing jobs in government schools across West Bengal.
Saha, representing the Burwan Assembly constituency in the Murshidabad district, was taken into custody on August 25 in connection with this job scandal.
Sources from the ED indicate that Saha received payments from 75 individuals seeking employment.
The initial batch of 20 candidates has been summoned for questioning next week at the ED's central government office (CGO) complex located in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
There are emerging reports of a middleman involved in the transactions.
It remains to be determined how much money was taken by the middlemen and the amount Saha personally received.
According to sources, each candidate reportedly paid around Rs 7 lakh, facilitated by a particular middleman.
The ED's legal representative previously informed a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata that from 2010 to 2015, a staggering Rs 1.2 crore was deposited into Saha's account, which he has failed to explain the origins of.
Saha is currently in judicial custody following his earlier arrest by the CBI in relation to this case.
Sources claim that Saha guaranteed positions for some candidates even after the recruitment panel had expired.
His primary associate in this issue was the former high-ranking official of WBSSC, Santi Prasad Sinha, to whom Saha recommended 75 ineligible candidates for unlawful recruitment.
On August 25, the ED apprehended the MLA at his residence in Murshidabad, where he attempted to escape by climbing a wall and discarded one of his two mobile phones into a bush.
However, ED officials intercepted him and retrieved the mobile device.