ED arrests TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya in teachers' recruitment scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya in the early hours of Tuesday after night-long questioning in connection with the irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers, officials said.

Bhattacharya, the former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, was arrested for allegedly not cooperating with the investigation, they said.

"Mr Bhattacharya has been arrested for his continued non-cooperating with the investigators during questioning, which began on Monday afternoon. He also tried to misdirect the investigators," an ED officer told PTI.

He is the MLA of Palashipara in Nadia district.

Earlier, the Supreme Court granted Bhattacharya "protection" from being arrested by the CBI, which is also investigating the case.

The ED is tracking the money trail in the scam, while the CBI is looking into the alleged irregularities committed in the recruitment.

It is alleged that several people who fared poorly in the recruitment examinations were hired as teachers in exchange for lakhs of rupees, while the eligible candidates were overlooked.

In July, the ED arrested former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee in the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam.

Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI named 16 accused, including Partha Chatterjee and former SSC advisor Shanti Prasad Sinha. The investigating agency, on the direction of the Calcutta High Court, is probing alleged irregularities in the teachers' recruitment.