The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Ratna Chakraborty Bagchi, former secretary of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education, for questioning on Monday in connection with the ongoing probe into irregularities in recruitment in state-aided schools, senior officers in the central investigating agency said.
Chakraborty Bagchi was the board’s secretary when arrested accused Manik Bhattacharya was the president.
CBI officers said they wanted to clarify a few things from her, including why the total marks secured by 269 candidates who appeared for the 2014 TET were increased by 1 mark and under whose orders.
The move comes on a day the CBI submitted a final report before Calcutta High Court on its probe into the alleged irregularities in recruitment of assistant teachers in Classes IX to XII and of non-teaching staff in group C and group D categories.
In July 2022, the central investigating agency had searched Chakraborty Bagchi’s house and the house of Manik Bhattacharya, the former president of the board and Trinamul Congress MLA.
“Only four charge sheets have been submitted as final but the probe into other FIRs in this case is still on. Chakraborty Bagchi remains an important witness in some of these cases and therefore the summons,” said a CBI officer.
“We have also summoned an official of S Basu Roy and Company to understand certain aspects of OMR sheet evaluation,” said the officer.
“There are reasons to believe that Manik Bhattacharya had interacted with officials of S Basu Roy and Company on evaluation of OMR sheets of Primary TET and Ratna was aware of this,” the CBI officer said.
“Her statements would be recorded and crosschecked with that of others which we have collected in the course of our investigation,” the officer said. “The statement of the official of S Basu Roy and Company will also be vital and will be collected separately on Monday.”