In an ongoing investigation into the cash-for-jobs scandal in West Bengal’s school recruitment process, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has unveiled intricate details of forgeries involving the manipulation of candidates’ marks. This revelation has shed light on the depth of irregularities in the state’s education sector, prompting a closer examination by legal authorities.
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The CBI’s findings, presented to the Calcutta High Court’s special division bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi, on Monday, outline a sophisticated scheme of altering Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets used in written examinations. This bench was specifically established to address the multifaceted cash-for-school-job cases in West Bengal, following directives from the Supreme Court to ensure a thorough investigation.
According to sources within the CBI, the manipulation involved scanning the OMR sheets to artificially inflate or modify the marks of certain candidates. This operation was allegedly facilitated by collusion between some employees of the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) and NYSA, an external agency responsible for providing the OMR sheets for the recruitment exams for teaching and non-teaching positions in state-run schools.
The court, acting on the CBI’s disclosures, has granted permission to candidates who feel aggrieved by the recruitment process to review their OMR sheets. These individuals, now parties in various lawsuits related to the scandal, can request access to their examination materials through an application to the CBI, offering them a chance to validate their scores and potentially challenge their outcomes.
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This judicial intervention comes in the wake of criticism directed at the WBSSC by the same special division bench last month. The commission was reprimanded for its repeated errors in handling the school job case and was faulted for failing to disclose essential details about its database, which could have provided early insights into the extent of the malpractices.
The exposure of these forgeries marks a critical juncture in the investigation, highlighting not only the vulnerabilities in the recruitment process but also the lengths to which individuals and entities might go to manipulate outcomes. As the CBI continues to unravel the layers of this scandal, the focus remains on ensuring accountability and restoring integrity to West Bengal’s educational appointments.
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