Bengal teacher recruitment scam: CBI expands SIT for speedy probe
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has formed a special task force (STF) to expand the probe team and speed up the investigation into the West Bengal teachers' recruitment scam case, India Today reported. Reportedly, seven more officers have been inducted into the existing Special Investigation Team (SIT). The induction comes after the Calcutta High Court pulled up the agency for prolonging the investigation.
Why does this story matter?
The CBI officials probing the multi-crore recruitment scam recently faced the wrath of a special CBI judge for the slow pace of investigation by the agency in the matter. While hearing bail pleas of dismissed West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee and six other accused, the court said the accused have some rights and that the investigation could not continue for an indefinite period.
Special task force comprises 7 senior officers
According to reports, the special task force officials have been inducted from various cities, including Delhi, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Dhanbad, and Bhopal. The team comprises one Superintendent of Police (SP) rank officer, three Deputy SPs, two inspectors, and one sub-inspector. They have been asked to report to the deputy inspector general (DIG), CBI, of the anti-corruption bureau, Kolkata, till May 30.
Fresh inductions came after high court's fury
The officers will initially be assigned to the SIT investigating the case, and their attachment terms may be extended based on the progress. The total number of SIT members will thus rise to 15, and the increase is seen as an obvious attempt to expedite the probe. Notably, the CBI was chastised by the Calcutta High Court for its slow pace of the investigation.
SIT, too, had requested for expansion
According to IANS, the SIT had also recently requested CBI higher-ups in Delhi to expand the team. In a report, it stated that there was an urgent need to add strength to the SIT as more and more new names were surfacing in the course of the investigation. The submission was approved by top officials, resulting in the formation of a new task force.
Know about Bengal teachers' recruitment scam
The scam involves the illegal hiring of teachers and non-teaching staff in West Bengal schools between 2014 and 2021. After failing the screening exams, the appointees allegedly paid bribes to secure employment. The CBI suspects that Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders raised more than Rs. 100 crore from such jobseekers. Chatterjee was arrested in the case last year, drawing condemnation for the Mamata Banerjee administration.
