Kolkata, Nov 16 (IANS) The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Sunday, released an audio clip and claimed that it substantiated that Trinamool Congress legislator Jiban Krishna Saha, who is in jail in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school job case, was still collecting money from behind bars, promising school jobs.

While addressing the media persons in his constituency of Nandigram in East Midnapore district in the morning, the LoP played the audio clip on his mobile.

He claimed that the voice of the person heard demanding money was reportedly that of Saha, who is currently in judicial custody after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials arrested him earlier this year in connection with the school-job case.

Adhikari also claimed that the conversations heard in the audio clip happened recently when Saha was still behind bars. IANS, however, could not check the authenticity of the audio clip.

In the audio clip, one person (claimed as Saha by the LoP) was heard telling another person to immediately send Rs 50,000. In reply, the other person was heard in the audio clip, saying, “Yes, sending. So till now Rs 15.50 lakh have been paid to you.”

Adhikari wrote on his X handle, “Shame on TMC and their JAILBIRD MLA Jiban Krishna Saha. The proverbial sayings; ‘Habit is the second nature’, or ‘A leopard doesn’t change its spots’ have a new synonymous addition – Once a Scamster, always a Scamster !!! While honest Bengalis are dripping sweat & blood for their children’s future, this corrupt TMC swindler; Jiban Krishna Saha is running his extortion racket straight from the comfort of his Jail cell !”

“Yes, you heard it right, Saha is wheeling and dealing, pocketing bribes, and fast-tracking sham Teacher Recruitments like it’s just another day in Jail. Is this what Mamata Banerjee’s “symbol of honesty (সততার প্রতীক)” has come to? A criminal playground where the law is a joke and Jails have turned into TMC offices?” he wrote.

He also urged the ED to “immediately” get these voice samples of the scamster scrutinised, and if proven guilty, get the entire Teacher Recruitment Scam cases transferred outside of West Bengal.

Adhikari also sought action against the jail officials, saying, “the sellout Jail Authorities, who have facilitated this daylight robbery. It’s criminal negligence at best, complicity at worst. They must face the music.”

Earlier this month, the counsel of ED informed a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata that Saha, the Trinamool Congress legislator from Burwan Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district, and his associates demanded money in exchange for jobs not only from ineligible jobseekers but also from eligible candidates.

ED has already recorded the statements of several candidates, who have directly given detailed information about money transactions made to the MLA and his associates. Many of them have said that when they initially refused to pay money, the recruitment was delayed or cancelled.

In August this year, the ED arrested Saha from his house in Burwan in Murshidabad district. The MLA tried to flee his house by scaling a boundary wall and threw one of his two mobile phones in a bush. However, he was stopped from escaping by ED officials, who also recovered the mobile phone. After he failed to answer the ED questions regarding lakhs of rupees found in bank accounts of his relatives, he was arrested by the financial probe agency.

In April 2023, the CBI had arrested Saha in the same case. After 13 months, he was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

According to sources, ED officials said in court that money from the scam was deposited in Saha’s bank account in tranches.

The ED’s case stems from a CBI FIR registered on the orders of the Calcutta High Court into alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Group C and D staff, assistant teachers of Classes 9 to 12, and primary teachers. The central agency has so far filed four charge sheets and arrested several key figures, including former State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, his alleged aide Arpita Mukherjee, and ex-Trinamool MLA Manik Bhattacharya.

–IANS

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