West Bengal recruitment scam: jobseekers suspend stir for a day

Protest venue used to host an event to mark birth anniversary of Guru Nanak

Jobseekers protesting against the recruitment scam in the State run-schools of West Bengal suspended their protests for a day on Monday on the request of Kolkata Police. The city police had urged protesters to stay away from the venue of their stir on Monday on account of an event organised on the eve of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak at Shahid Minar Grounds.

For the past few months, hundreds of jobseekers have been protesting around the statue of Matangini Hazra near the Shahid Minar Grounds. During the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee participated at an event organised by the Sikh community at the venue.  

While the protesters stayed away from the venue in Esplanade, there were protests by jobseekers at Karunamoyee in the Salt Lake area. 

This is the second time in the past few months that protesters have been asked to suspend protests at Shahid Minar grounds, citing law and order issues. On October 8, the stir was suspended when a Durga Puja carnival was organised by the West Bengal government on Red Road near the protest venue.

The protesters said that they would resume their demonstration with more vigour from Tuesday. The recruitment scam had rocked West Bengal politics for the past several months. Former Minister Partha Chatterjee and several officials of the West Bengal Education Department are behind bars for their alleged involvement in the scam.

During the day, officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogated former West Bengal Minister Paresh Chandra Adhikary in connection with the recruitment scam. The Trinamool leader was at the ED office for nearly four hours. Mr. Adhikary’s name had surfaced after the Calcutta High Court found irregularities in the recruitment of his daughter Ankita Adhikary at a State-run school. The High Court had directed Ms. Adhikary to return all the salary she had got from the school. The High Court had directed that the petitioner who had challenged the appointment of the former Minister’s daughter be appointed as a teacher in the school. After the controversy came to the fore, Mr. Adhikary, who was Minister of State for Education, was dropped from the Council Of Ministers.

On Monday, the Calcutta High Court expressed hope that the investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would get to the bottom of the scam. Justice Abhijit Gangopadhayay, who is hearing the matter, said that he felt that the CBI would be able to work its magic. Earlier, Justice Gangopadhyay had expressed disappointment over the pace of the investigation in the scam.  The High Court had directed the CBI to probe allegations in the recruitment scam. The ED is probing the issue of money laundering in the scam.