ED records voice sample of Sujay Krishna Bhadra in school jobs scam case

Enforcement Directorate sleuths on Thursday collected voice samples of Sujay Krishna Bhadra, one of the arrested accused in the school jobs scam, an ED official said.

Bhadra, popularly known as 'Kalighat er Kaku' (uncle from Kalighat), is said to be close to the top leaders of the ruling TMC and was allegedly a key official in a couple of companies linked to them.

The recording will be sent to Central Forensic Laboratory. Along with the recorded voice samples of Bhadra, the ED will also send the recordings they had collected as evidence while investigating the scam for the purpose of "matching", the official told PTI.

His voice was recorded at the ESI Hospital at Joka here after being taken from the SSKM Hospital on Wednesday night.

"The accused's voice was recorded at night at the ESI Joka Hospital. The samples were collected by our officers in the presence of two independent witnesses," he told PTI.

About eight ED officers, one forensic expert and one technician were present in the hospital's soundproof room where Bhadra's voice was recorded. he said.

Bhadra was repeatedly asked three questions during the recording. After it he underwent another round of medical examinations before he was taken back to the SSKM Hospital around 3.15AM Thursday, he said.

ED detectives arrested Bhadra in May last year for his alleged involvement in the illegal appointments made in state-run and state-aided schools in West Bengal. He is in SSKM Hospital for multiple health issues.

Kalighat is the area where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee resides.

Bhadra had earlier appeared before the CBI a couple of times. The central agency is running a parallel investigation into the recruitment scam.

The ED is probing the money laundering aspect of the scam, in which several education department functionaries and senior TMC leaders including former education minister Partha Chatterjee and his friend were arrested for their alleged involvement.