In a major development promptly condemned by the saffron leadership as a part of vendetta politics by Mamata Banerjee Government the Bengal Police on Saturday arrested senior BJP leader Jayprakash Majumdar on charges of fraudulent practices, sources said.
He was arrested after seven-hour marathon grilling by senior officials of the Bidhannagar Police Station where a complaint was registered as back as August 28 last year by one Arup Ratan Das who alleged that Majumdar then a Congress leader had fleeced Rs7.20 lakh in two installments from the aspirants of State-held TET examinations.
The Saturday’s incident can have its own ramifications in the State politics, experts said.
Bidhannagar Police Station had unsuccessfully handled the multi-crore Sharada chit fund case — amid tampering and suppression of evidence alleged by the opposition —leading the Supreme Court to order a CBI inquiry into the scam.
TET or Teachers’ Eligibility Test hit the national headlines a couple of years ago when about 20 lakh aspirants appeared for the exams — for a few thousand posts — amid widespread complaints of mismanagement, nepotism and bribery involving some MPs, Ministers and district presidents of the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Das complained that even as they were staging a dharna Majumdar approached them and asked for Rs10 lakh so that their cases could be fought in the Supreme Court.
“He told us that he would get us the jobs. So we collected money from the aspirants issuing them coupons. Though Rs7.20 lakh was collected and given to him, nothing happened in subsequent months. When we approached him to pay back out money he even threatened us showing some muscle men and revolvers,” Das said adding, “even as subsequent complaint with BJP president Dilip Ghosh whose party Majumdar joined subsequently did nothing forcing us to file a police complaint.”
After a day-long grilling Majumdar was arrested “as he did not cooperate during interrogations and dodged most questions,” senior police officials said adding he had been booked under Sections 420, 406 and 506 for cheating, issuing threats and criminal breach of trust.
The Saturday’s development comes days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to pay back in the same coin when the CBI arrested Sudip Bandopadhyay. “We also run a Government here and we can also take similar actions against your leaders and arrest them here,” Banerjee had threatened.
TET scam hit the national headlines as State opposition complained of several thousand crores going in as bribe for giving appointments to those who paid for the job. According to sources, for each post the leaders charged anywhere between Rs4 and Rs10 lakh.
Hundreds of law suits were slapped and were still continuing in lower courts and High Court forcing the State Government to postpone the declaration of result till mid 2016 when the Calcutta High Court gave a go-ahead to publish the results.
Reacting to the Saturday’s development Bengal BJP chief said “though Majumdar was a Congress leader during the relevant time and though the BJP has nothing to do with the complaints, the reason is clear as to why he has been arrested.”
Wondering as to why Majumdar would charge money for fighting law suits as he was not a lawyer he said, “Jayprakash Majumdar is not a lawyer and is unlikely to take money. Besides, the person who claims to have paid the money is himself not an examinee or an aspirant so how he becomes a party to this case.”