School recruitment case: Calcutta HC orders arrest of its staff for taking bribe

Kolkata, July 4 A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered immediate arrest of a staff of the same court for accepting bribe in a case relating to the alleged multi-crore recruitment scam in state-run schools.

The judge who ordered the arrest order was none other than Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who had been in the national headlines for over a year for his series of orders and judgements in connection with the recruitment case.

The accused high court clerk has been identified as Swapan Jana, attached to the current record department of the appellate side of the court.

Jana has been accused of demanding a bribe to the tune of Rs 1.25 lakh from a visibly impaired person against the promise of job. The accused has also been charged with accepting an amount of Rs 45,000 for quick movement of files and ensuring speedy hearing on a petition filed by the visibly impaired person, Harekrishna Ranjit.

Ranjit brought the matter to the notice of Justice Gangopadhyay’s bench and provided evidence of paying money to the accused clerk for quick movement of his files.

During the hearing, the accused clerk was summoned to the court, where he denied the charges. But he became silent after the petitioner presented documents related to online payments made to him.

Justice Gangopadhyay summoned the deputy sheriff of the high court and ordered him to take the accused clerk into custody. He also directed the deputy sheriff to present the accused in front of the registrar (vigilance) of the high court and file an FIR against him.