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Kolkata, Nov 18 (IANS) West Bengal Governor CV Anand Bose on Tuesday sanctioned the prosecution of two key accused named in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charge sheet in a case related to irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers in state-run schools.
The two accused persons are Trinamool Congress MLA and former West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) chairman Manik Bhattacharya and former WBBPE secretary Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi.
“Based on the investigation and final report as requested by the CBI, the Governor has sanctioned prosecution under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 against (1) Manik Bhattacharya, then Chairman, West Bengal Board of Primary Education, and (2) Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi, the then Secretary, West Bengal Board of Primary Education,” a statement issued by the Governor’s office on Tuesday night said.
The approval came a few weeks after the CBI informed the Kolkata special court that the Governor’s office had not yet approved the charge sheet against Bhattacharya and Bagchi in the case.
As per protocol, approval of the charge sheet against Bhattacharya and Bagchi was necessary as both were holding official portfolios in an autonomous body under the state government.
Such chargesheets require approval within three months from the date of filing.
Since the CBI had filed its fifth and final charge sheet in the case on October 3, which included the names of three more people, namely Manik Bhattacharya, Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi and Biwas Adhikari, who have been identified by the central probe agency as middlemen in the recruitment scam, the clearance has come within the time limit of three months from the date of filing of the charge sheet.
According to the CBI’s final chargesheet, the officer was the president of a consortium of private Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) colleges in Birbhum district, and he used that chair to push candidates for appointment as primary teachers in various state-run schools despite huge payments.
–IANS
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