WB: Former Primary Education Board President Manik Bhattacharya arrested by ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Manik Bhattacharya in a primary teacher recruitment corruption case. Bhattacharya, the Trinamool Congress MLA of Palashipara constituency of Nadia district and former president of the Primary Education Board, was arrested on Tuesday morning after an overnight interrogation.

According to the Central investigation agency, Manik was arrested on the charges of inconsistency in the statement and non-cooperation in the interrogation.

An ED official said, “There are a host of other allegations, including an illegal collection of money from individuals for getting admission in Bachelor of Education colleges in the state. He also indulged in massive irregularities in the teachers' eligibility test for the recruitment of primary teachers in different State-run schools in West Bengal.”

Manik Bhattacharya was summoned to the CGO complex on Monday night in the primary teacher recruitment corruption case. According to sources, he appeared much after the specified time. After that, he was interrogated in stages. According to the Central agency, there are considerable discrepancies in the documents submitted by Manik Bhattacharya to the ED in the recruitment corruption case.

It is alleged that the former president of the Board of Primary Education was trying to mislead the officials, trying to hide the information even after the ED showed the evidence. After that, ED decided to arrest him.

Although the question arose after he was arrested on Tuesday morning, how was Manik Bhattacharya arrested despite the protection of the Supreme Court?

As Manik Bhattacharya's arrest came to light early Tuesday morning, his lawyers questioned whether the Supreme Court has protection. The former president of the Primary Education Board cannot be arrested until the judgment of this case is announced in the Supreme Court. However, how was he arrested? In response, ED officials said that the Supreme Court's protection was only in CBI cases; that there was no such safeguard in ED's arrest. So ED had no obstacle to arresting him.

Manik Bhattacharya was the president of the Board of Primary Education for almost a decade during the Trinamool regime. Recently, Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay ordered his removal from the post of president. The ED alleged that on the instructions of Manik Bhattacharya, marks sheets were changed, and OMR sheets were manipulated. There are many discrepancies in the documents submitted by Manik Bhattacharya to the ED in the recruitment corruption case.

It is alleged that the former president of the Board of Primary Education was trying to mislead the officials, trying to hide the information even after the ED showed the evidence. After that, ED decided to arrest him. The Trinamool MLA has been taken for a medical examination. He will be taken to court today.

Incidentally, former education minister of the state and ex-general secretary of TMC, Partha Chatterjee has been arrested earlier in the teacher recruitment corruption case in the state. Also, the former Vice-Chancellor of North Bengal University, Subiresh Bhattacharya, has been arrested in the recruitment corruption case.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee member, Sujan Chakraborty, said that Manik Bhattacharya's arrest was inevitable. "He was trying to evade the arrest by adopting a number of techniques but ultimately could not avoid (the Central agencies)," he said.