Jiban Krishna Saha is the third TMC politician to be arrested in association with the West Bengal teachers’ recruitment scam case
Jiban Krishna Saha was arrested in the early hours of Monday for his involvement in the teacher recruitment scam case currently being investigated by the CBI. The arrest comes after continuous interrogation and searches that were conducted in several places linked to the MLA, including his offices and multiple high-value properties.
Who is Jiban Krishna Saha?
Mr Saha is a Trinamool Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly, representing the Burwan constituency. He was elected in May 2021 by defeating BJP candidate Amiya Das. He has been suspected of making transactions worth around rupees 300 crores in the recruitment corruption case.
Investigation and arrest.
The West Bengal lawmaker’s questioning and interrogation began on Friday morning. They lasted more than 65 hours, on which the CBI also conducted raids at several locations related to him, including his residence and offices. This is one of the longest raids conducted in the course of the investigation into the bribe-for-job scam. CBI officials claim they recovered 4-5 bags worth of incriminating documents relating to the recruitment scam near one of the MLA’s properties.
Mr Saha was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning. According to local media, the MLA will be taken to Kolkata accompanied by CBI officials. He was initially arrested for destroying evidence and obstructing the investigation.
Officials from the premier investigating agency say that, upon seeing the CBI arrive at his residence on Friday morning, Mr Saha threw away two phones containing important information regarding the scam into a pond near his house. The officials, however, brought in pumps and earthmovers and proceeded to drain and dig out the pond in search of the devices. One phone has since been recovered. The search for the second phone is ongoing.
Third TMC leader to be arrested.
Jiban Krishna Saha is the third TMC politician to be arrested in association with the teacher recruitment scam case after Partha Chatterjee and Manik Bhattacharya.
The bribe for the job scam goes back to 2014 till 2021, when Partha Chatterjee was the state’s education minister. The scam is mainly regarding irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and group C and D staff members for state-run schools. It is alleged that employees were illegally recruited, and several ineligible and less meritorious candidates for the TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) were hired. A single bench of the Calcutta High Court had ordered a CBI probe into the matter.
Mr Chatterjee, one of West Bengal’s most influential and popular politicians, has been accused of being involved in the massive scam. The Enforcement Directorate had recovered millions in gold and cash from his aide Arpita Mukherjee’s house, and they were sent to jail custody in August 2022.
Jiban Krishna Saha’s arrest poses another setback to Mamata Banerjee’s government. The BJP remains relentless in demanding accountability for the scam. Union Minister Amit Shah has also arrived in the state to kick off the BJP’s Lok Sabha campaign. In the run-up to the 2024 elections, the arrests could spell trouble for the ruling Trinamool Congress. It remains to be seen how the investigation progresses.
