Rs 4 lakh for labour, sweeper, peon, ambulance attendant, driver, mason, sanitary assistant, dumper operator; Rs 5 lakh for clerks, teachers (in municipality run schools), pipeline inspector, assistant cashier; and Rs 6 lakh for sub assistant engineer — this is allegedly the ‘rate chart’ for positions under the group D and group C services across municipalities and municipal corporations in West Bengal, an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate has revealed.
In a chance discovery, the agency, while raiding the offices and other premises of an accused in connection with the teacher recruitment scam, unearthed a second scam. The investigators accessed a bunch of incriminating digital and paper records that had blown the lid off the ‘cash for jobs’ racket.
According to the investigation report filed by the ED, 6,000 vacancies in 17 positions under group D and C services across 60 civic bodies since 2014-15 have been filled up with candidates who paid for the jobs. The municipalities include Kanchrapara, New Barrackpore, Kamarhati, Titagarh, Baranagar, Halisahar, South Dum Dum, North Dum Dum and so on. News 18 has accessed the report.
The investigators have seized the lists of agents who collected the money and the candidates who paid lakhs as graft. The records seized by the ED include all details of the candidates, their profile and the amount of money they paid for specific positions.
A senior ED official said: “The kickbacks were received by the chairpersons of respective municipalities and several senior government officers. We have details of the agents who collected the cash and the candidates who paid for jobs. Our examination process is on. With the evidence we have, it seems that the municipalities filled up around 6,000 vacancies by taking bribes and manipulating the recruitment system.”
Politics in play
Trinamool Congress leaders, however, claim that the raids and the cases are all part of the BJP’s ‘political vendetta’.
Speaking to News 18, Sougata Roy, senior leader and MP of Trinamool Congress, said: “If the agencies have evidence against the politicians and the officers, they should make those public. They can conduct an investigation and arrest the culprit. Our government in West Bengal never shielded the guilty and our chief minister Mamata Banerjee gets our party members arrested too, if found guilty of corruption.”
He added: “But whatever the central agencies are doing is part of BJP’s larger politics of vendetta. They find cases against Trinamool leaders before elections.”
Chance discovery
The directorate, which was probing Bengal’s teacher recruitment scam and its money trail, stumbled upon digital and paper documents related to another ‘cash for jobs’ scam.
During the raids at the office and other premises owned by Ayan Sil of ABS Infozone Pvt Ltd on March 19 and 20, ED’s officers seized documents related to the scam across Bengal’s civic bodies. In April, ED in its affidavit to the Calcutta HC stated that the ‘cash for jobs’ scam in municipalities may rise to the tune of Rs 200 crore, reported News 18.
“The interrogation of Ayan Sil revealed that an amount of Rs 200 Crore have been collected from candidates towards giving them illegal appointments in various municipalities of West Bengal,” the ED has mentioned. All this forms part of the FIR lodged by the CBI on April 22 against Ayan Sil and other unidentified persons.
Importantly, the ED says political leaders are also involved in the new scam as Ayan Sil “and other high functionaries including public servants and political leaders hatched the criminal conspiracy among themselves including private persons.” Sil, who was the Director of ABS Infozone Pvt Ltd, was responsible for printing, designing and evaluation of OMR sheets of candidates and manipulated the same to facilitate the illegal appointments.
“It has been noticed that several persons including Ayan Sil, other agents and political persons have obtained the bribe money both in the illegal recruitment of teachers in the education sector as well as for securing various employments in various municipalities…and even the proceeds of crime of Teachers Recruitment Scam and Municipality Recruitment Scam have got intermingled on account of common agents and common beneficiaries,” the ED has mentioned. ED asked the CBI to step in and lodge an FIR regarding the latest scam too as the “victim in both the cases is the same — public or common people at large.”
As per the ED. the illegal appointments were made in various municipalities like Kanchrapara, New Barackpur, Kamarhati, Titagarh, Baranagar, Halisahar, South Dum Dum, Dum Dum, Taki etc and ranges from recruitment of mazdoors, sweepers, clerks, peons, ambulance attendants, pump operators, helpers, sanitary assistants, drivers and assistant mistries.
In connection with the teacher recruitment scam, Bengal’s former education minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested last year. During the course of investigation, the central agencies —ED and CBI — arrested some of the co-accused.
Hundreds of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets were seized, where the racketeers allegedly manipulated the system by altering or changing the answer options of successful candidates and by mixing the groups of papers, leading to disqualification of successful candidates.
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