Teachers' recruitment case: Custody of Kuntal Ghosh extended by 14 days

A special court in Kolkata on Friday extended the judicial remand of expelled youth Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, who is in custody for his reported involvement in the alleged multi-crore teachers' recruitment scam, by another 14 days.

However, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigating the matter faced the wrath of special court Judge Arpan Chattopadhyay for the delay in providing the explanations sought by the court in the charge sheet filed by the CBI earlier.

On May 19, when the CBI submitted a charge sheet in the case, the court sought certain explanations, which the central agency was supposed to submit to the court on Friday.

However, the CBI counsel informed the court that the agency needs a month's additional time to submit the explanatory note.

Expressing anguish over this submission, the judge noted that the approach of the CBI in this matter is extremely casual. The main query of the court was why those who paid money for getting jobs in state-run schools have not been arrested yet.

On Wednesday, Kuntal Ghosh had levelled another serious allegation while coming out of the court.

He had said that the leader of opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, had called up the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office many times on May 30, the day when the central agency had arrested Sujay Krishna Bhadra in connection with the same case.

"Let Adhikari's call details be checked," he had said.

When asked how he got this information while in prison, Ghosh had said that he has his sources.

While entering the court on Friday, Ghosh alleged that the ED is deliberately trying to divert the course of the investigation in the wrong direction.

"The ED officials are lying. They are deliberately trying to divert the course of investigation in the wrong direction. If they have the guts, they should present my statement in the court," Ghosh said.

--IANS

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