Bengal recruitment case: Partha Chatterjee’s son-in-law records statement

Kolkata: Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, son-in-law of former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, recorded his statement as a witness in the school recruitment scam before a designated Enforcement Directorate court in Kolkata on Tuesday.

“Bhattacharya recorded his statement before a special court as a witness to the case on Tuesday. He was an accused in the case and had turned into an approver last week,” a senior ED official said on condition of anonymity.

The federal agency arrested Chatterjee on July 23, 2022, in connection with the multi-crore recruitment scam in government-run schools in West Bengal. He is presently lodged in the Presidency Correctional Home in Kolkata.

In May 2022, the Calcutta high court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the appointment of non-teaching staff (Group C and D) and teaching staff by the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education between 2014 and 2021. The appointees allegedly paid bribes in the range of ₹5-15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests.

Though the high court entrusted CBI with the investigation, ED, which started a parallel probe, arrested Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee. ED had seized ₹49.8 crore in cash and jewellery worth over ₹5 crore from two flats of Mukherjee.

Bhattacharya, a co-accused in the school recruitment scam, has told the court that he wants to be a witness for the state, lawyers aware of the development said.

“Bhattacharya’s statements can prove vital for the prosecution,” a lawyer said on condition of anonymity.

“The court granted him tender of pardon on March 11. He recorded his statement as an approver before the judicial magistrate under section 164 of CrPC on March 12. On Tuesday he recorded his statement as a witness in the case,” said the ED official.