Bengal school jobs scam: Trinamool MLA’s judicial custody extended by 14 days

Kolkata, July 18 (IANS) A special CBI court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha by another 14 days in connection with the multi-crore recruitment scam in the state-run schools in West Bengal.

While moving the bail petition, Saha's counsel had pleaded for bail under any condition on the ground that both the charge sheet and the supplementary charge sheet have been issued against his client.

"Everyone who is behind the bars in the matter has the right to be released on bail, considering that both the charge sheet and supplementary charge sheet have been issued against them," Saha's counsel argued.

However, the counsel of the CBI made the counter argument that from the charge sheet it is clear which accused played what role in the alleged scam.

"From the charge sheet, it is also clear that Saha had links with all those involved in the alleged scam. Even there had been attempts to tamper with the evidence," the CBI counsel argued.

After hearing both the sides, the judge of the special court, Arpan Chattopadhyay, rejected Saha's bail petition. However, he also directed the central agency to file a fresh charge sheet and thus expedite the investigation process.