West Bengal SSC scam: Former commission advisor, chairman sent to CBI custody

New Delhi: Former West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) advisor Shanti Prasad Sinha and ex-SSC chairman Ashok Saha, who were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the teacher recruitment scam, were sent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody. Both the arrested persons were produced before the Alipore Court on Thursday following which the CBI was granted custody till 17 August. The arrests come after former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and  his aide Arpita Mukherjee were arrested by the probe agency in connection with the SSC scam. What is the scam about? In 2016, the West Bengal government had issued a notification to SSC to recruit 13,000 Group-D employees for state-aided/-run schools. In 2019, the panel making the appointments had expired, but, despite that, at least 25 persons were allegedly appointed by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), reports The Print. According to a petition filed in the court, they were “illegal” appointments indicating corruption in the system. The matter was taken up for hearing after the Calcutta High Court sought affidavits from the SSC and the WBBSE. However, both bodies contradicted each other in open court. The SSC claimed in its affidavit that it had made no employee recommendations, while the WBSSE said it had received the data on a pen drive and the persons were duly appointed. During the course of the hearing, the petitioners made the claim that not just 25 but over 500 people were appointed after the SSC panel expired, and were now drawing salaries from the state government. Last month, the Enforcement Directorate arrested former education minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee in connection to the scam after the recovery of huge amounts of cash and other valuables at properties linked to them. With input from agencies Also read: _**Firstpost Podcast: All about the West Bengal SSC scam and Partha Chatterjee’s role in it**_ _**West Bengal SSC scam case: Partha, his aide Arpita sent to jail till 18 August**_ Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.