WBSSC school jobs scandal: ‘Truncated’ list of tainted candidates sparks legal storm, more names expected

The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recently released a list of 1,806 “tainted” candidates in connection with the multi-crore school jobs scandal. Legal experts, however, say the list is “truncated” and likely aimed at concealing the full extent of the malpractice, with many more names expected to surface in the coming days.

Former Calcutta High Court judge and BJP MP from Tamluk, Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who has been closely involved with cases related to the scandal, believes the actual number of tainted candidates could exceed 6,000. According to him, the WBSSC’s list does not reflect all categories of malpractice:

1. Candidates recruited without taking the written examination

2. Candidates submitting blank answer sheets yet securing jobs

3. Candidates whose OMR sheets were tampered to inflate marks

4. Candidates recruited from expired panels

“When all four categories are considered, the number of tainted candidates is unlikely to be less than 6,000,” Gangopadhyay said.

Senior advocate and CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, who has long litigated on this matter, agreed. “Based on my experience with similar cases, the figure of 6,000 or more seems accurate. The state government and the commission appear to be using various tactics to shield as many tainted candidates as possible. The recent list of 1,806 seems more about concealment than transparency,” he said.

The controversy highlights persistent concerns over systemic corruption in West Bengal’s school recruitment processes and suggests that further investigations may reveal a far wider network of irregularities than currently acknowledged.

With IANS inputs