KOLKATA: Manik Bhattacharya, a Trinamool Congress legislator and former head of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), was detained on Tuesday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the multi-billion dollar WBSSC recruitment irregularities scandal.

Bhattacharya was reportedly called to the agency office in Salt Lake, which is located on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, on Monday afternoon, as per ED sources. He was interrogated there all night long, and on Tuesday morning the ED sleuths eventually indicated that he had been taken into custody.

Manik Bhattacharya was named in the first charge sheet that was brought before a special court last month, and the ED also included some information about the specific contributions he made to the recruiting irregularities scandal.
The agency also made reference in the charge sheet to some telephone conversations that had taken place between Bhattacharya and Partha Chatterjee, the former minister of education for West Bengal, and which strongly suggested that the former president of the WBBPE was involved in the scheme. In the case, Partha Chatterjee is already under judicial guardianship.

Only on Tuesday will Bhattacharya be produced at an ED special court. Recall that till October 10 Manik Bhattacharya was protected from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The ED, however, was not subject to the same limitations when considering similar actions. The ED used that advantage, and that also hours after Bhattacharya's protection from the high court had run out.

ED sources said, Bhattacharya was instrumental in boosting the real score given to ineligible candidates so that they could participate in the hiring process.

"Numerous other accusations have been made, including the unauthorised collecting of money from people applying to Bachelor of Education programmes in the state. He also engaged in significant irregularities during the teachers' eligibility test for the hiring of elementary instructors in various state-run schools in West Bengal "ED officials stated. 
It is also said that after some mistakes in the entrance exam's question paper were found, he arbitrarily increased the scores of several candidates in the teachers' eligibility test.

Only on Tuesday will Bhattacharya be produced at an ED special court. Recall that till October 10 Manik Bhattacharya was protected from arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The ED, however, was not subject to the same limitations when considering similar actions. The ED used that advantage, and that too hours after Bhattacharya's protection from the high court had run out.

According to ED sources, Bhattacharya was instrumental in boosting the real score given to ineligible candidates so that they could participate in the hiring process.

"Many other accusations have been made, including the unauthorised collecting of money from people applying to Bachelor of Education programmes in the state. He  also engaged in significant irregularities during the teachers' eligibility test for the hiring of elementary instructors in various state-run schools in West Bengal "ED officials said. It is also said that after some mistakes in the entrance exam's question paper were found, he arbitrarily increased the scores of several candidates in the teachers' eligibility test.

WBSSC recruitment scam: Partha Chatterjee and more in CBI’s chargesheet

Delhi excise policy fraud: CBI detains a businessman in Hyderabad

Liquor scam: ED raids recover 1 crore cash, digital devices and documents also seized