Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee quizzed over repeated reference to one "Abhishek" in an audio tape on bribe sharing in teacher recruitment scam
- Jun 15
- 2 min read
By The Slate Bureau
Kolkata, June 15: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned Abhishek Banerjee on Monday for questioning in connection with the primary school teacher recruitment scam. He has appeared at the CGO Complex, and the interrogation is currently underway.
ED officials told the media that the interrogation is based on the third supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI in this case. This document references a 15-minute conversation in which the name "Abhishek Banerjee" appears multiple times. The conversation includes discussions regarding the sale of jobs and disputes over the sharing of bribe money.
Sujaykrishna Bhadra, also known as "Kalighat-er Kaku" (Uncle from Kalighat), was arrested on allegations of involvement in the primary recruitment scam. Additionally, the CBI has also arrested former Youth Trinamool Congress leaders Shantanu Banerjee and Kuntal Ghosh. A meeting involving these three individuals reportedly took place at Sujaykrishna’s residence in 2017.
During the investigation, an audio recording from that meeting has been obtained. The charge sheet cites a 15-minute conversation among the three accused, in which Abhishek's name is repeatedly mentioned. There is also discussion regarding the handover of money obtained from selling jobs to this "Abhishek."
It remains unclear whether this "Abhishek" is indeed the Trinamool Congress General Secretar. The conversation also mentions the name of former minister Partha Chatterjee, a key accused in the teacher recruitment scam.
Acting on the audio recording, the central agency examined a sample of Sujaykrishna’s voice. According to the conversation in the audio, "Abhishek" demanded a massive sum of money for primary school recruitment. Kuntal, Shantanu, and Sujaykrishna discussed how to hand over the funds and how much money needed to be collected from each candidate. It is alleged that "Abhishek" threatened to stall the recruitment process if the bribe money was not received and also threatened to implicate job aspirants in false cases.
Abhishek had allegedly learned that Partha Chatterjee was granting jobs to ineligible candidates in exchange for bribes. The conversation among the three accused reveals that he subsequently demanded ₹15 crore from Sujaykrishna. To appease "Abhishek," Sujaykrishna devised a plan to collect a total of ₹100 crore from the job aspirants. Kuntal and Shantanu were entrusted with the task of collecting that money.
It was stated that out of this ₹100 crore, ₹20 crore each would be given to Abhishek, Partha, and Manik Bhattacharya—the former president of the Primary Education Board. They would divide the remaining amount among themselves. The ED is currently gathering evidence to determine whether the 'Abhishek' mentioned in these conversations is indeed the Trinamool leader Abhishek and whether he is linked to any illegal financial transactions. Sujaykrishna and Kuntal are currently out on bail.
Sujaykrishna was an employee of 'Leaps and Bounds,' a company owned by Abhishek. The financial transactions of that company are also under the ED's scrutiny; Abhishek had previously been questioned regarding this matter. Additionally, the ED now intends to bring Abhishek's other companies under the scope of the investigation. The Diamond Harbour MP might be questioned about this on Monday as well.
