W.B. recruitment scam | police use force to remove protesting job seekers

Job seekers who had appeared and qualified for the Teacher Eligibility Test in 2014 have been protesting at the venue since Monday

Hundreds of job seekers protesting near the office of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE)in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area were removed by police in the early hours of Friday.

Police personnel used force to drag the protesters and put them into prison vans. According to the police prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Cr. P.C was imposed in the area in front of WBBPE and those protesting were violating the orders. The police were also making announcements urging those protesting to leave the venue citing that the Calcutta High Court had ratified their decision of imposing prohibitory orders. A few protesters were detained by the police for questioning.

Job seekers who had appeared and qualified for the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) in 2014 have been protesting at the venue since Monday. They had also gone on a hunger strike demanding that they be given appointments as teachers in the State.

Irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in State-run schools have rocked the West Bengal government. The central investigation agencies have arrested six key officials of the State Education Department including former Minister Partha Chatterjee and former chairperson of WBBPE Manik Bhattacharya.

The protesters are claiming that they have appeared in the recruitment process twice but they have been deprived of jobs as jobs were given in return for monetary favours.

The police action evoked strong reactions from Opposition parties. Representatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Left parties and Congress reached the venue even when the police action was on.