Editor
KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has discovered a cash for jobs scam in West Bengal while investigating a teacher recruitment scam in the state. The central agency conducted raids on the offices of Ayan Sil, a businessman who played a significant role in the teacher recruitment scam as the Director of ABS Infozone Pvt Ltd, between March 19-20 this year.
During the investigation, the ED found evidence of another high-profile cash for jobs scam. The accused individuals had collected a staggering amount of ₹200 crores from candidates seeking employment in various municipalities across the state. The ED also revealed the involvement of private individuals, public servants, and the ruling political dispensation in the scam.
Fraudulent appointments were made for various positions, ranging from sweepers to sub-assistant engineers, in municipalities such as Titagarh, Baranagar, Halisahar, Kanchrapara, New Barackpur, Kamarhati, and Dum Dum, among others. Ayan Sil and his co-accused charged the fraudulent candidates according to a "rate card."
According to News18, the scamsters charged candidates ₹4-6 lakhs for securing positions such as peon, laborer, sweeper, mason, dumper operator, sanitary assistant, and ambulance attendant. The bribe for jobs such as assistant cashier, pipeline inspector, and clerk amounted to around ₹5 lakhs, while sub-assistant engineers were charged around ₹6 lakhs.
Over the course of 2014-2015, a total of 6,000 vacancies for 17 Group C and Group D positions across 60 municipalities in West Bengal were filled through this fraudulent scheme. The Enforcement Directorate has recovered a list of agents and fraudulent candidates involved in accepting and paying the bribes, respectively.
A senior official revealed, "The kickbacks were received by the chairpersons of respective municipalities and several senior government officers. We have details of the agents who collected the cash and the candidates who paid for jobs."
The Enforcement Directorate took action in March by arresting businessman Ayan Sil and later filed an affidavit in the Calcutta High Court regarding the ₹200 crore cash for job scam. On April 22, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a First Information Report (FIR) in response to ED's request for intervention, as both the teacher recruitment scam and the cash for job scam shared the same victims.
The Enforcement Directorate stated, "It has been noticed that several persons including Ayan Sil, other agents, and political individuals have obtained the bribe money both in the illegal recruitment of teachers in the education sector as well as for securing various employments in various municipalities. And even the proceeds of crime of Teachers Recruitment Scam and Municipality Recruitment Scam have got intermingled on account of common agents and common beneficiaries."