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Kolkata:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials probing the cash-for-school job case in West Bengal have secured crucial clues about recommendations for appointments being made not only on paper but also sent via WhatsApp or SMS and were considered by the authorities concerned.

Sources aware of the development said that all these recommendations made in writing or through digital communications, were personally scrutinized and shortlisted by the former state education minister and former Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee.

The details of all such recommendations have been mentioned in the annexures attached with the charge sheet filed by the central agency on this count.

The CBI, through such attachments, has already submitted to the special court in Kolkata a list of 324 candidates who were recommended by different influential individuals, including former and present MLAs and MPs for selections.

In the attachments, CBI has also provided the details of 134 such recommended candidates who secured jobs and are currently employed with different state-run schools in the state.

Sources mentioned that Partha Chatterjee, before shortlisting the candidates, used to have close-door meetings with some of his confidant officers of the state education department.

Sources added that for confidentiality’s sake, such meetings were conducted at his residence and not at his office. Mr Chatterjee, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in connection with the school job case in July 2022, has also been identified as the main brain in the scam in the charge sheet filed by ED.

Besides him, his close associate Arpita Mukherjee and his son-in-law are among the other accused individuals as mentioned in ED’s charge sheet. Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust, a trust named after Mr 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.

Mr Chatterjee is currently under treatment at a private hospital in Kolkata following a reported deterioration in his medical condition.

The authorities of the said hospital have recently informed a special court in Kolkata that the former state education minister is almost cured and will be released soon.

Earlier this week, the BJP MP from Purulia constituency in West Bengal, Jyotirmay Singh Mahato, wrote to Governor C.V. Ananda Bose and requested him to ensure the safety of Chatterjee.

He alleged a possible life threat for the latter at the private hospital.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Agartala:

A group of men found the most unusual target for their heist – the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) camp office in Tripura’s Agartala.

The theft came to light when CBI officials visited the office at the highly-protected Shyamali Bazar quarter complex on February 11, only to find the premises devoid of any belongings or furniture. The thieves had made off with everything in the office, but its walls – steel almirahs, chairs, electric appliances, doors and even windows. The office had remained closed since five months.

After CBI Inspector Anurag filed a complaint, an investigation into the theft was launched. Initial interrogation led to the arrest of two suspects – Biplab Debbarma and Raju Bhowmik. Soon, four more suspects were held from the adjoining Shyamali Bazar and Khejur Bagan areas, situated on the outskirts of Agartala.

The police successfully recovered eight steel almirahs, seven wooden chairs, four windows, a geyser and four chairs.

The suspects, now in police custody, will be produced in court. The police are continuing their investigation to find out if there are more stolen items and if bigger schemes are at work behind the theft.

Few of detainees are also drug addicts, police told PTI.

New Delhi:

The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case of fraud, forgery and criminal conspiracy against former Indian Coast Guard Director General K Natarajan.

According to the First Information Report, on June 7, 2021, then Coast Guard IG Rakesh Pal had handed a complaint to the Defence Secretary.

In it, he alleged that scores of his 2019 Annual Confidential Report were deliberately reduced, due to which he could not get promoted to Additional Director General.

In its FIR, the CBI has alleged that the ACR of many officers and the Non-Initiation Certificate (NIC) of some officers were found missing.
The investigating agency says the NIC certificates, transfers and postings do not match the profile of the concerned officer.

The CBI also said that the NIC certificates were submitted three or four years after the reporting deadline, which is not as per rules. The agency is investigating the matter in detail.

What are ACR and NIC?

ACR (Annual Confidential Report): It is prepared to evaluate the efficiency and promotion of government officials.

NIC (Non-Initiation Certificate) certifies the ACR of an officer has not been written within a particular time limit.

Further investigation is going on in this matter and the CBI may soon question the concerned officials.
 

New Delhi:

The CBI has booked a former deputy secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and six former Prasar Bharati officials in connection with a corruption case referred to it by the Lokpal, officials said Wednesday.

Besides the former MoIB deputy secretary, the CBI has also listed former a Prasar Bharati Additional Director General (Engineering) and an ADG (Engineering- Headquarters); two Assistant Engineers of Doordarshan Kendra-Bhubaneswar; and two Assistant Engineers of DD News-Delhi, as suspects in the FIR.

As directed by the Lokpal, the CBI has not divulged the names of the officials or the allegations against them.

The Lokpal had asked the CBI to conduct the investigation through an order dated December 20, 2024 following a complaint made to it last year.

It has also directed the CBI to keep the identity of the complainant and respondent public servants (suspects) confidential in conformity with Lokpal rules, the officials said.

The CBI has registered the FIR under 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with criminal conspiracy, and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Probe agencies in India will now be able to access records of all wanted accused with a click of a button as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has developed a new portal – ‘BHARATPOL’ – on the lines of the INTERPOL.

The BHARATPOL Portal would be accessible through CBI’s official website. It will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday in Delhi.

Tomorrow is going to be a landmark day, as the BHARATPOL portal, developed by the CBI, will be launched. It will give a new edge to our investigation agencies by enhancing their global reach to fulfil the Modi govt’s vision to build a secure Bharat for all.

Looking forward to…

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) January 6, 2025

“This will be first of a kind platform and would allow police forces of the states and Union Territories as well as central agencies to seamlessly send their requests and coordinate information sharing in realtime for international assistance in criminal matters,” a senior official told NDTV.

“Through the Bharatpol portal, the country’s law enforcement agencies will be able to access real-time information,” he added.

It will streamline all requests for international assistance through INTERPOL, including the issuance of Red Notices and other colour-coded INTERPOL notices, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

“The BHARATPOL portal will become a transformative tool for field-level police officers, enhancing their efficiency in dealing with crimes and security challenges and by facilitating easier and faster access to international assistance. It will strengthen India’s efforts in combating transnational crimes,” an official said.

The growing footprint of transnational crimes including cyber, financial, online radicalization, organized crimes, drug trafficking, human trafficking etc. necessitates rapid and real-time international assistance in criminal investigations.

BHARATPOL will also help Indian Law Enforcement Agencies seek international assistance. Until now, the CBI and the National Central Bureau have facilitated requests submitted by various probe agencies with the INTERPOL.

At the central, state, and Union Territory levels, this coordination is executed through INTERPOL Liaison Officers (ILOs), who are linked to Unit Officers (UOs) at the level of Superintendents of Police, Commissioners of Police and Branch Heads, within their respective organizations.

At present, the communication among the CBI, ILOs, and UOs primarily relies on letters, emails and faxes.

CBI says that via this portal issues relating to pendency, which states complaints would be streamlined.

New Delhi:

The CBI has booked one of its own deputy SPs posted in the Bank Security and Frauds branch in Mumbai for allegedly taking “undue advantage” from people probed by him, officials said Thursday.

The FIR registered by the agency against Meena alleges he was utilising the services of middlemen for transacting the bribe money through a web of accounts and hawala channel, they said.

Deputy SP BM Meena was booked for allegedly obtaining undue advantage from different individuals who were within the ambit of the investigation being conducted by him.

The CBI follows a zero tolerance policy to corruption and other misdemeanour, and takes action against erring officers immediately, they said.

The message from Director Praveen Sood is clear that internal vigilance is prerequisite to external action, they said.

The agency has dismissed three officers under Article 311 of the Constitution without enquiry, while five were given compulsory retirement under the Fundamental Rule (FR) 56(J) of the Department of Personnel and Training service rules.

In Meena’s case, the CBI conducted searches on 20 premises at Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi which led to seizure of Rs 55 lakh allegedly routed through hawala channel, an agency spokesperson said.

He said property papers showing investment of Rs 1.78 crores and book entries showing transactions worth Rs 1.63 crores besides other incriminating documents and articles were also seized.

Recently, the government had “forfeited” the Union Home Minister’s medal for Excellence in Investigation awarded to CBI Inspector Rahul Raj in 2023 on the recommendation of the CBI, officials said.

Raj was caught by the agency this year allegedly receiving Rs 10 lakh bribe, and was dismissed from the service, the officials said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Agitating junior doctors on Tuesday staged a protest outside the CBI’s Salt Lake office here, accusing the agency of unnecessary delay in investigating the RG Kar case and collusion with the Kolkata Police to protect the criminals.

As part of their protest, the junior doctors symbolically locked the gate of the CBI office at the CGO Complex, demanding that the agency expedite the probe.

A confrontation took place when security personnel removed the symbolic lock from the gate, leading to a fight between the doctors and policemen deployed at the spot.

One of the protesting doctors expressed his frustration, saying, “We are losing hope in the way the CBI is handling the investigation. If this continues, it would be better if they shut down their office in Kolkata.” Another doctor added, “Even after so many days, our sister ‘Abhaya’ has not received justice. The CBI detectives are working with Kolkata Police to protect the perpetrators. We don’t want this type of CBI.” Meanwhile, representatives from the Abhaya Mancha and the Joint Platform of Doctors continued their protest at Dorina Crossing in central Kolkata’s Esplanade area, demanding speedy justice for the doctor.

Around 8 pm, they lit candles near their make-shift stage as part of their ‘Droher Alo Jalan’ initiative. The protesters were also joined by a good number of people from different parts of the city.

“We would like to extend our protest demonstration till December 31. We shall again move the court seeking permission for that,” one of the agitating senior doctors said.

The agitators also formed a human chain at the Dorina Crossing.

The Calcutta High Court on Monday upheld a December 20 order allowing doctors to hold demonstrations.

The state had challenged the single bench order by Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, which permitted the Joint Forum of Doctors to stage a sit-in “50 feet away from Dorina Crossing at Esplanade in central Kolkata from December 20-26.” Police had discovered the body of the woman doctor inside the RG Kar hospital on August 9.

The CBI has since filed a chargesheet against the prime accused, Sanjay Roy, for the rape-murder of the on-duty doctor.

According to the chargesheet, Roy, a civic volunteer with the local police, allegedly committed the crime when the victim was resting in the hospital’s seminar room during a break.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The CBI conducted searches at 10 locations in Delhi and surrounding areas on Wednesday in connection with a case of transnational cyber-enabled financial frauds involving Rs 117 crore, officials said.

The searches were conducted during an ongoing investigation into a case registered on a complaint from the Union Home Ministry’s Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).

It was alleged in the FIR that unidentified organised cybercriminals and suspected foreign actors were engaged in systematic financial fraud across India.

“The investigation so far has revealed that fraudsters operating from overseas use digital platforms such as websites, WhatsApp, and Telegram to target victims in India.

“They lure individuals through part-time job scams, task-based frauds, and promises of high returns on initial investments. Funds deposited by the victims are quickly transferred through a network of ‘mule accounts’ layered to obscure their origins,” the CBI Spokesperson said in a statement.

During the searches conducted on Wednesday at two locations in Gurugram and eight in the national capital, “incriminating” evidence, including electronic devices and financial records, was seized from the premises of 10 individuals suspected of involvement in the fraud, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

The CBI on Friday filed a chargesheet in connection with the RG Kar Hospital financial irregularities in which it has named former principal of the medical establishment Sandip Ghosh as the prime accused, an official said.

In the 100-odd page chargesheet, the central probe agency has also named four others who were arrested for alleged involvement in the irregularities, he said.

“Apart from Ghosh (who has been suspended), the chargesheet includes the names of the other four arrested accused – Biplab Singh, Afsar Ali, Suman Hazra and Ashish Pandey. The CBI has also attached at least 1,000 pages of documents in support of their investigation of the case,” the officer told PTI.

However, the chargesheet was not accepted by the Special CBI court at Alipore here, as the official approval required to file chargesheet against any state government employee was not available.

“The West Bengal government needs to approve a chargesheet that has the name of its employee before it is submitted in the court. In this case, the approval has not yet come. Both Ghosh and Pandey are doctors of the state-run hospital,” he said.

The chargesheet was filed almost three months after Ghosh was arrested on September 2 in connection with the financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, which grabbed national headlines after the body of an on-duty medic was found in the seminar room in August.

It has been alleged that the financial fraud was underway at the hospital for over three years. During this period, tenders were rigged while purchasing medical equipment for the hospital, and Ghosh allegedly helped his close associates to bag the tenders.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)