KOLKATA: The drama over the teacher recruitment scam in the state continued on Friday with TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee challenging the Enforcement Directorate's summons asking him to appear at its office for questioning. Meanwhile, a judge of the Kolkata high court removed the investigating officer of the central agency, while expressing his dismay over the progress of the probe.
The court also directed that Mithilesh Kumar Mishra, ED’s assistant director probing into the alleged recruitment scam who was removed on Friday, would not be given the responsibility for investigation of any case in Bengal.
It was Mishra who had served Abhishek the summons on Thursday asking him to come for questioning on October 3, when he was scheduled to be in Delhi to lead the protest over Bengal’s dues from the Centre.
Challenging the ED’s summons, Abhishek said on his X handle, “The fight against the deprivation of WB and its rightful dues shall persist regardless of the obstacles. No force on Earth can hinder my dedication to fight for the people of WB and their fundamental rights. I’ll be in Delhi joining the protest on Oct 2nd & 3rd. Stop me if u can!”
Shortly after Abhishek’s comment on the microblogging platform, High Court Justice Amrita Sinha, who came down heavily on the ED recently for its sloppy probe into the recruitment scam, relieved the central agency’s investigating officer Mishra.
In her order, she said, “On the last occasion, the court interacted with Shri Mishra, who was unable to provide satisfactory answers to the Court’s question. The Court is convinced that the said officer will not be competent enough to handle the present case which is of a huge magnitude. Director Enforcement Directorate is directed to immediately assign the work entrusted to Mishra Sharma to some other competent officer immediately. Shri Mishra shall be relieved from the investigation of the present case. Shri Mishra may be engaged in some other case, but will not be entrusted to investigate any case arising in the State of West Bengal.”
Though the TMC planned to take more than 2,000 job-card holders under the Centre’s rural employment guarantee scheme to Delhi for the protest event in a special train, the railway authorities on Friday evening informed that they would not able to provide the rake because of unavailability of coaches.
Abhishek described the railway’s decision as a "shocking display of deceit", adding that "this blatant obstruction of WB’s right to protest for their rightful dues is a glaring testament to their fear".