Kolkata: A special court of Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday extended the judicial custody for Trinamool Congress legislator and former chairman of West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), Manik Bhattacharya, till December 7 in connection with the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam in the state.
Bhattacharya’s counsel on Thursday moved a bail plea on behalf of his client citing “slow pace” of probe by the ED.
“It is not justified that my client stays in judicial custody for an indefinite period while the central agency continues its probe. So we request that his bail plea is approved. My client will not escape and will extend all cooperation in the process of investigation,” Bhattacharya’s counsel pleaded.
However, the ED counsel opposed the bail plea and claimed that there is concrete evidence of Bhattacharya’s involvement in the teacher recruitment scam.
The ED counsel claimed that there is evidence that an amount of Rs 3.25 crore was credited to Bhattacharya for ensuring the recruitment of 325 individuals as primary teachers in 2014.
“Properties worth over Rs 30 crore owned by Bhattacharya and his family members have already been traced. He is not cooperating in the investigation process at all. There is evidence of money being paid to the bank accounts of Bhattacharya’s son from different private teacher training colleges in the state.
“The investigation is taking some time because of the complexities in the probe process involving a financial scam. So, till the time the investigation is complete, there is need for Bhattacharya to be in judicial custody,” the ED counsel argued.
After hearing both sides, the court extended Bhattacharya’s judicial custody till December 7.
(IANS)
