A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here on Thursday extended the judicial custody of former education minister and Trinamul Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee till 2 February in connection to the multi-crore teachers’ recruitment scam. Similar extensions were ordered for co-accused, the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education’s (WBBSE) former president Kalyanmoy Gangopadhyay and the West Bengal School Service Commission’s former chairman Subiresh Bhattacharya.
On Thursday, Chatterjee’s counsel Selim Rahman made a forceful argument in the court while moving the bail plea on behalf of his client. Even drawing the reference of Bollywood blockbuster movie “Jolly LLB”, Rahman also claimed that going for a sit-in demonstration will be the only course left for him and his client. “The court is accepting all the pleas moved by CBI on this count. However, the plea of the central agency is not backed by any logic.
My client was not responsible for giving appointments to any teacher, be it eligible or ineligible,” Rahman argued. He added, “All the documents related to the case have been confiscated by the CBI. My client will not be able to visit the office of the state education department after being released on bail. So question of influencing does not arise.”