Bengal school job case: Sujay Bhadra approaches Calcutta HC for interim bail extension

Kolkata:  Sujay Krishna Bhadra, one of the prime accused in the cash-for-school job case in West Bengal, has approached a division bench of the Calcutta High Court for an extension of the interim bail period granted to him on medical grounds.

The interim bail granted to Bhadra last month by the division bench of Justice Arijit Banerjee and Justice Apurba Sinha Roy on medical grounds is set to expire on March 31. Now with just 10 days left for the interim bail period to expire, Bhadra has approached the same division with a plea for an extension of the bail period.

The matter will come up for a hearing on March 24. It is not yet clear whether the CBI counsel will oppose his plea for an extension of the interim bail period. Sources said that a decision will be taken based on the arguments placed by Bhadra’s counsel and also on the basis of his latest medical reports.

Although currently out on bail, Bhadra has to follow several restrictions as conditions set by the division bench earlier. His movements are being kept under watch by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials.

At the same time, Bhadra is barred from meeting any person except those associated with his treatment process. There is a special bar on his interaction with political persons.

He is also required to keep both his mobile phones reachable so that the CBI officials can get in touch with him whenever required.

The trial process in the Enforcement (ED)-registered case in the alleged school-job scam at a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act ((PMLA) in Kolkata has already started last month.

Besides Bhadra, heavyweight individuals named as accused are former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee among others.

Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust, a trust named after Chatterjee’s deceased wife, is also named in the ED charge sheet as an accused entity. It is alleged that the ill-proceeds were shown as donations to this particular trust and thus diverted.

–IANS