HC directs CBI to interrogate West Bengal minister over appointment of daughter as teacher

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed West Bengal Minister of State for Education Paresh Chandra Adhikari to appear before the CBI here over alleged appointment of his daughter as a teacher in a state government-aided school in Cooch Behar district.

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The order was passed on a petition by a candidate who claimed that she was deprived of the job despite having secured higher marks than the minister's daughter in the recruitment examination for teachers.

Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay directed the minister to appear before the CBI authorities in Kolkata by Tuesday evening. Adhikari, who was in Cooch Behar, told reporters that he has left for Kolkata along with his daughter following the high court order.

The minister is an MLA from Mekhliganj constituency in Cooch Behar. The court directed the CBI to file a report on the matter on May 7, when it will be taken up for hearing again.

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The petitioner's lawyer Firdous Shamim claimed that she had secured 77 marks in the examination while the minister's daughter got 61, and that her name did not figure in the merit list, but had been given appointment as a teacher depriving the petitioner Babita Sarkar.

Justice Gangopadhyay had earlier on four occasions ordered CBI inquiry in connection with alleged irregularities in appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in state government-aided schools.