Sujay Krishna Bhadra alias ‘Kalighater Kaku (Uncle from Kalighat)‘ being produced before a court in Kolkata after he was arrested by ED in connection with the West Bengal school job scam.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested Sujay Krishna Bhadra alias ‘Kalighater Kaku (Uncle from Kalighat)‘ in connection with the West Bengal school job scam. Mr. Bhadra who was being investigated for his alleged role in the scam appeared before the ED on Tuesday and was questioned for over 12 hours before he was arrested late in the night. Sources in the investigating agency said that Mr. Bhadra was not cooperating with the investigation and was trying to mislead the probe.
On May 20, the ED searched different houses of Mr. Bhadra in Kolkata. Prior to this, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also questioned Mr. Bhadra and searched his properties.
The name of a mysterious ‘Uncle from Kalighat’ had cropped up a few months ago from the accused in a recruitment scam who were arrested by the investigating agencies. Mr. Bhadra came forward and spoke to the media on several occasions. Though Mr. Bhadra had denied any involvement in the school job scam he had said that he used to work for Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. The CBI on May 20 questioned Mr. Banerjee for over nine hours.
The name Kalighater Kaku has been subject of much speculation in political circles as the residence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is in Kalighat.
After the arrest, Mr. Bhadra was produced before a court in Kolkata. on Wednesday. It remanded Mr. Bhadra to 14 days in ED custody. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that investigating agencies had reached the heart of the scam and after a little effort the ‘head’ of those behind the scam would be exposed. The Trinamool Congress leadership raised questions on whether the arrest was to divert attention from Congress MLA Bayron Biswas joining the ruling party.
The arrest is one of the series of arrests in the recruitment scam that came to the fore in July 2022 with the arrest of former State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and the recovery of huge cash from the residence of his aide Arpita Mukherjee.
The Calcutta High Court had on several occasions directed investigation by the central investigation agencies in the school job scam.
Over a dozen accused, which include three MLAs of the ruling party as well as senior officials of the State Education Department and agents who allegedly collected money from candidates, have been arrested in the scam.
The appointment of nearly 4,000 candidates who allegedly used unfair means to get jobs have been terminated. The scam has also rocked the politics of the State with political parties in the Opposition targeting the ruling Trinamool government.