Kolkata, June 24 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confiscated movable and immovable property of Rs. 27.19 crore belonging to arrested Prasanna Kumar Roy, a middle man, allegedly involved in the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (Group C & D staff) recruitment scam of 2016, official sources said.
The property was held in the name of three tea estates of Prasanna Kumar Roy. The tea estates are Samsing Organic Tea Pvt Ltd, Yangtong Organic Tea Pvt ltd and Bamandanga Tea Estate Pvt Ltd. The attached properties consist of bungalows, factories, plants & machineries and a fleet of vehicles.
"These properties were acquired from the cash collected from various undeserving candidates for their illegal appointments to the post of Group-C & D staff," the ED statement said.
The Supreme Court in an order on April 3 quashed the appointments of more than 25,000 teaching and non-teaching staff by the West Bengal Central SSC terming the entire selection process as vitiated and tainted.
The Central investigation agency said it unearthed those confiscated properties during its probe on the basis of two FIRs registered by the CBI in the matter of illegal appointment of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees to the undeserving, non-listed and below-ranked candidates and depriving the deserving and genuine candidates.
The allegation includes appointment without maintaining fairness, in criminal conspiracy by various persons and by flouting the relevant Rules.
The ED has earlier attached properties worth Rs 219.91 crore in this case of Group C & D staff recruitment scam and arrested Prasanna Kumar Roy (the main middleman involved in the collection of money and details from candidates) and Chandan Mondal (main agent of Prasanna Kumar Roy) and both are in judicial custody.
In a related case of assistant teacher recruitment scam (SSC Asst. Teachers 9th to 12th), the ED has earlier attached properties worth Rs. 238.78 crore.
In another case of primary teachers recruitment scam, the ED has already attached/seized properties worth Rs. 151 crore.
The total attachment by ED Kolkata in the recruitment scam cases now stands at Rs 636.88 crore, the agency said.
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