Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court Wednesday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to begin a probe into allegations of irregular recruitments in the Indian Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
Hearing the matter, Justice Jay Sengupta observed that since the matter is of national concern, the CBI should immediately file an FIR and begin investigations into the allegations.
The petitioner Bishnu Chowdhury, a resident of Hooghly District, had written a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta HC on November 26, 2022, regarding “adoption of corrupt practices” in the recruitment of Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, and to the Indian Army. “
“… There is an active racket of criminals who used to manufacture forged documents like domicile certificate, SC and OBC certificates issued by district magistrate, sub divisional magistrate, chairman of municipality, executive officer of municipality, as well as police authorities,” said Chowdhury’s letter written in Bengali. ThePrint has accessed a copy of the letter.
Speaking to ThePrint, Chowdhury said that the recruitment process in West Bengal is “slightly relaxed” since it’s a border state. In Bengal, when it comes to district-wise seat allocation, students are divided into groups based on the nature of the district they come from—border, general or Naxal. Within districts, their cut-offs vary based on caste.
“Since the exams are conducted in English and Hindi, in West Bengal, which has a Bengali-speaking population, the cut-offs are around 30-50 per cent, which is lower than states like Uttar Pradesh where the cut-offs are around 80 per cent. This makes West Bengal an easier option to sit for exams in,” Chowdhury added.
With his letter to the chief justice of the Calcutta HC, Chowdhury claims to have attached allegedly forged documents such as character and antecedents’ certificate and domicile certificates. “Aspirants were charged an amount of Rs 6-8 lakh by officials for fake documents with official seals,” said Chowdhury.
The case was first listed under Justice Rajasekhar Mantha’s Bench. While hearing the matter on 13 June, 2023, Mantha not only added the CBI, Union of India and the Ministry of Defense as parties in the case, he also ordered the West Bengal CID to file a report.
The CID report was presented before the judge in a sealed cover on 27 June, who ordered a preliminary enquiry by the CBI. The matter thereafter shifted to Justice Sengupta’s Bench who began hearing police-related matters filed in the HC.
Also read: Probing Bengal ‘SSC scam’, ED found parallel ‘municipal recruitment racket’. What its report says
‘CBI not ruling out recruitment of foreign nationals’
While making submissions before the Calcutta HC Wednesday, the CBI sought the permission of the court to file a Regular Case (RC) and begin investigations as they have come across at least four instances of irregular recruitments during the primary probe where North Indian residents had misused forged documents to get hired in the CRPF.
However, CBI informed the Court, so far, they have not come across any instance of irregular recruitment in the Indian Army. However, it isn’t ruling out recruitment of foreign nationals in the central forces, which needs to be investigated as it concerns national security.
While speaking to ThePrint, deputy solicitor General Billwadal Bhattacharyya, representing the CBI in the case, said: “(The CBI) quizzed the sub-divisional Officer of Barrackpore and a DCP in special branch, Barrackpore regarding the allegations. In four cases in North 24 Parganas, documents were forged. The CBI has a copy of the CID report where irregularities have been mentioned. We are not ruling out the recruitment of foreign nationals but, so far, no evidence has been found regarding the same. The CBI has also not found any irregular recruitments in the Army, the rest is under investigation.”
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the home portfolio in the state, said she would be grateful if such information is shared with the state for speedy investigation. “I immediately seek an inquiry when I receive such information. Few days ago, a man dressed as a BSF officer with arms and weapons tried to reach my residence. The police initially thought he was a senior officer only to find out his motive was wrong but since it is under investigation, I won’t speak about it.”
“Such people roam around us. Citizens should be aware. In Bengal, if any incident occurs, our government takes strong action. I believe the police will work independently. I dislike the police being threatened or block development officers being threatened.”
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)