Kolkata, 18 February (H.S.): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the West Bengal primary teacher recruitment scam, collected the voice sample of former Trinamool Congress youth leader Kuntal Ghosh on Tuesday. The process took place at Kolkata's Nyay Bhavan in the presence of a Metropolitan Magistrate. Notably, the agency had previously collected the voice sample of 'Kalighat Ka Kaku.'

After providing his voice sample, Kuntal Ghosh made a sensational statement. He alleged, Action is being taken against me only because I am a Trinamool member. If the investigation is to be fair, then Dibyendu Adhikari and Bharati Ghosh should also be summoned. The CBI must clarify their role as well.

Kuntal Ghosh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 20, 2023, over alleged financial transactions related to the primary teacher recruitment scam. Subsequently, the CBI also took him into custody. After spending nearly 23 months in jail, he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in November last year.

According to the CBI's report, Kuntal Ghosh and his associates executed the recruitment scam using fake websites and email IDs. The investigation uncovered shocking details:

A fake website, resembling the official one, was created to show failed Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) candidates as qualified.

Fraudulent email IDs were used to call candidates for interviews, masking irregularities in the recruitment process.

The evaluation of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets was outsourced to S. Basu Roy & Company without any transparency.

The CBI informed the court that Kuntal Ghosh allegedly took around ₹4 crore from candidates, organizing fake interviews within government offices. Meanwhile, the ED claimed that 325 candidates were charged a total of ₹3.25 crore, with Kuntal Ghosh reportedly receiving more than ₹19 crore in total.

Hindusthan Samachar / S P Singh