Ex-secondary board chief gets conditional bail in Bengal school job case

Kolkata: A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted conditional bail to the former president of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) Kalyanmoy Gangopadhyay in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school-job case.

Gangopadhyay has spent over 14 months in judicial custody since he was arrested on September 15 last year by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged involvement in the case.

Although the division bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Gaurang Kanth granted bail on health and medical grounds, it also imposed several conditions.

The bench said that Gangopadhyay has been granted bail on condition that he will fully cooperate with the central agencies that are currently probing the scam.

Another condition is that he will not able to move out of the area under the jurisdiction of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).

Gangopadhyay will not be allowed to visit areas under the jurisdiction of Park Street police Station in central Kolkata and the Bidhannagar City Police in the northern outskirts of the city, considering that the offices of WBBSE and the state education department are there.

He has also been directed to submit his passport to a special court in Kolkata where different cases relating to the alleged school job scam are being heard.

The principal charge against Gangopadhyay was the distribution of appointment letters flouting all norms following the recommendations of WBSSC’s screening committee without cross-checking.

The probe officials were surprised how his terms were extended multiple times and he continued to occupy the chair of WBBSE president for 10 years at a stretch.

He had moved bail applications in the past, but they were rejected first by the special court and then by a single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court.