Calcutta, 5 December (H.S.): Sujay Krishna Bhadra, one of the main accused in West Bengal's notorious school job scam, was granted bail by a single bench of the Calcutta High Court on Friday. Bhadra, also known as Kalighater Kaku (Uncle of Kalighat), is the last of the key accused in the scam to be granted bail.

Previously, former Education Minister and Trinamool Congress General Secretary Partha Chatterjee was also granted bail last month. Chatterjee had been in jail for three consecutive years since he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in July 2022.

Sujay Krishna Bhadra had been under house arrest for medical reasons until he was granted interim bail earlier this year. However, on Friday, a single bench of Justice Shubhra Ghosh granted him regular bail, imposing several restrictions that must be followed.

The court ordered that Bhadra must surrender his passport and meet with the investigating officer of the central investigating agency once a week. He must also provide his mobile number to both the court and the investigating officer. The court issued a clear warning that Bhadra cannot tamper with evidence or documents in any way.

Justice Ghosh also stated that if Bhadra violates any of the bail conditions, the trial court will have full authority to revoke his bail.

Notably, Sujay Krishna Bhadra was first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 30, 2023. Later, the Central Bureau of Investigation, which was conducting a parallel investigation into the case, also declared him arrested.

In April this year, the CBI told a special court in Kolkata that Bhadra had received approximately ₹75 crore from Arun Hazra, the middleman in the school job scam. According to the CBI, this amount was collected from candidates who paid money to obtain jobs in schools.

The CBI told the court that Hazra operated within an entire network. He had several sub-agents under him who sought candidates willing to pay money for jobs. The money collected by these agents reached Hazra and then Bhadra. Hazra illegally collected money for the recruitment of teachers at all levels—primary, secondary, and higher secondary.

Sujay Krishna Bhadra's bail is being seen as a significant turning point in the ongoing investigation and trial into the school job scam.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey