The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a fresh chargesheet in the money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the recruitment of Group-C and Group-D staff through the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBCSSC). The agency has named former state education minister Partha Chatterjee, his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee and expelled Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh, among others, in the supplementary prosecution complaint.
The supplementary complaint was filed on August 20 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata. The ED had filed its first chargesheet in the case in January 2025. The money laundering investigation stems from a CBI FIR alleging large-scale irregularities in the recruitment of Group-C and Group-D employees through the WBCSSC.
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According to the ED, Chatterjee, who was the minister in charge of the Education Department at the time, exercised extensive influence over the WBCSSC and allied institutions. The agency has alleged that he misused his official position to influence and facilitate illegal appointments.
The ED claimed that lists of allegedly ineligible candidates were prepared on the basis of directions attributed to Chatterjee and were subsequently routed through alleged middleman Prasanna Kumar Roy and his associates. The agency alleged that the network was involved in arranging recommendations and appointment letters for candidates who were not entitled to the posts.
The investigation has also allegedly uncovered manipulation of OMR-based examination results and rank jumping to facilitate appointments. According to the ED, candidates were allegedly asked to pay between ₹10 lakh and ₹20 lakh for different posts. The agency claimed that around ₹15-16 lakh was collected for Group-C posts, while candidates seeking Group-D positions allegedly paid around ₹10-12 lakh.
The agency has quantified the proceeds of crime in the case at ₹630.40 crore. However, it said the amount could be higher because the alleged recruitment irregularities involved several other methods. These included rank jumping, appointments outside the approved panel, appointments after expiry of the panel and alleged manipulation through Right to Information (RTI) and re-evaluation mechanisms.
Chatterjee, Mukherjee and Ghosh were also chargesheeted by the ED in June in another money laundering case concerning the recruitment of Assistant Teachers through the West Bengal Central School Service Commission. Chatterjee was arrested in July 2022 in a separate case involving alleged irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers. He was subsequently granted conditional bail by the Supreme Court and was released in April 2026.
The recruitment process has also faced judicial scrutiny. In April 2025, the Supreme Court held that the WBCSSC recruitment process had been vitiated by fraud and cancelled the appointments of more than 25,000 teachers and staff. The court’s findings included large-scale irregularities involving manipulation of OMR scores, rank jumping and illegal appointments.
With the fresh chargesheet, the ED has expanded its investigation into the alleged financial transactions, the roles of individuals involved in the recruitment process and the network through which the suspected illegal appointments were facilitated.
The agency is also examining the source and movement of the alleged proceeds of crime and their links with other beneficiaries. The latest prosecution complaint is expected to bring further scrutiny to the alleged recruitment network and the financial trail connected with the case. Further proceedings will take place before the special PMLA court in Kolkata.
