West Bengal SSC ‘scam’: ED to investigate ‘illegal financial transactions’

The agency has booked four former SSC officials and an official of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education in the case. They ate former convenor of the committee and SSC adviser SP Sinha, former programme officer Samarjit Acharya, ex-SSC chairman Saumitra Sarkar, former SSC secretary Ashok Saha, and WBBSE president Kalyanmoy Ganguly.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Locket Chatterjee said, “Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee planned how to hide crores of rupees. Had he made such planning for the future of students of Bengal, the education situation in the state would have been much better,” the MP said.

“The CBI cannot investigate the financial aspect of the case. It is only investigating the criminal aspect of it. However, the ED will investigate the economic aspect. It will have to probe this case since lot of money is involved,” said senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

State Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya countered, saying, “ I don’t understand why Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is making such statements. There are lot of cases against him.”

Meanwhile, Canning MLA Saokat Molla who had been asked to appear before investigating officials for questioning in the coal scam, evaded the summons. He was asked to bring all valid documents like passport, voter card, PAN card and Aadhaar card along.

Molla’s lawyer visited the CBI office on Friday and sought 15 days time citing pre- scheduled political meetings of his client.

Also, TMC’s Birbhum’s district chief Anubrata Mondal, who was summoned on Friday in the cattle smuggling case, didn’t appear before the agency. He evaded the summons on health grounds.