Kolkata, April 29: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Tuesday, informed a special court in Kolkata that one of the prime accused in the West Bengal school job case, Sujay Krishna Bhadra, received Rs 75 crore from one particular middleman, Arun Hazra.

The money received by Bhadra, according to the CBI counsel, was collected by Hazra from “tainted” candidates who paid to secure school jobs.

Hazra, who is named as an accused in the charge sheet, appeared at the special court in the afternoon. The judge enquired about the actual charges against him.

Thereafter, the CBI counsel briefed the court on the amount of money that Hazra collected as a middleman from “tainted” candidates and handed over the money, amounting to Rs 75 crore, to Bhadra.

The CBI counsel also presented a summary of Hazra’s modus operandi to the court.

As per the CBI, Hazra, as a middleman, used to operate a chain of sub-agents. Their main task was to identify candidates willing to pay money for school jobs and, accordingly, collect the money from these candidates. Hazra collected amounts for the recruitment in all categories of teaching staff, namely primary, secondary, and higher secondary.

While the recruitment for primary teachers is done by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE), the same is done for secondary and higher secondary teachers by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

Last month, CBI collected the handwriting specimens of Hazra to match them with the texts in some diaries, recovered by the investigating officials, which contain some details of the payments made by Hazra to Bhadra.

Similarly, handwriting specimens of six of Hazra’s sub-agents were also collected.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court’s division bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had upheld an earlier order by a division bench of the Calcutta High Court cancelling 25,753 teaching (secondary and higher secondary) and non-teaching jobs in state-run schools.

The Supreme Court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the “genuine” candidates from the “tainted” ones.

Meanwhile, a detailed hearing in the case on irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers in different state-run schools will resume at the Calcutta High Court’s new bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Reetobrata Kumar Mitra from May 7. The fate of around 32,000 primary teachers is at stake in the case.

New Delhi, April 29: The BJP on Tuesday severely criticised the Congress party for its social media post, which it claims represents the “Sar Tan Se Juda (beheading)” mindset.

Amit Malviya, in-charge of the BJP’s National Information &Technology Department, said Congress leaves little doubt with its use of “Sar Tan Se Juda” imagery.

The Congress party on Monday put up a post on its official X handle @INCIndia, which is an image with a caption ‘At the time of ‘responsibility’ – Invisible (in Hindi loosely translated).

The image shows a man in a kurta-churidar with no neck or head.

Reacting to this post, Malviya said, “The Congress leaves little doubt with its use of “Sar Tan Se Juda” imagery. This is not merely a political statement; it is a dog whistle aimed at its Muslim vote bank and a veiled incitement against the Prime Minister. It is not the first time the Congress has resorted to such tactics.”

Malviya accused Rahul Gandhi of instigating violence towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Rahul Gandhi on multiple occasions, has both instigated and justified violence toward the Prime Minister. Yet the Congress will never succeed, for the Prime Minister enjoys the love and blessings of millions of Indians.”

“On the contrary, proverbially speaking, if anyone’s neck has been slashed, it is the Congress —now reduced to a headless hydra, flailing without direction,” the BJP leader said in conclusion.

The Congress post has created a flutter on social media, with many questioning the party over it.

The post comes days after the horrific terror attack on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 people, including 25 tourists and one local.

Congress, in an all-party meeting on April 25, had assured the government of full support in the fight against terrorism. However, several of its leaders have been making controversial statements which are being highlighted by the Paksiatni media.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that there should be no war with Pakistan. “There is no need for war. We are not in favour of it. Stringent security measures must be taken. That’s all,” he said on April 26.

A day after CM Siddaramiah sparked a row, his minister, R.B. Timmapur, triggered another controversy by saying that the terrorists would not have asked their targets’ religion before killing them in cold blood.

Timmapur, Karnataka’s Excise Minister, told the media, “A man who is shooting, will he ask caste or religion? He will just shoot and go. Think practically. He will not stand there, ask and then shoot,” he said.

The minister alleged that a “conspiracy” was being plotted to paint this as a religious issue. “I feel they didn’t ask about religion when they were carrying out the terror attack. In case they did, there shouldn’t be this madness of using such a statement to politicise the issue based on religion.”

Another senior Congress leader from Maharashtra, Vijay Wadettiwar, echoing Timmapur’s remarks, said, “The government should take responsibility for the Pahalgam Terrorist Attack. They (the government) are saying that terrorists killed people after asking them (about their religion)… Do terrorists have time for all this?… Some people say that this did not happen… Terrorists have no caste or religion.”

Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra also raised questions about going to war with Pakistan.

Another senior party leader from Kashmir leader Saifuddin Soz, said one should accept if Pakistan claims it is not involved until the investigation is complete.

New Delhi, April 29: Congress leaders on Tuesday stepped up their demand for a special session of Parliament, endorsing the call made by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge in response to the brutal terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

The attack, orchestrated by ‘The Resistance Front’, an offshoot of the banned Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, saw terrorists open fire on a group of tourists in the Baisaran Valley, killing 26 people and injuring several others.

Rahul Gandhi and Kharge have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament at the earliest to demonstrate a united national stand against terrorism.

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told Media, “This is a good thing. We will be able to raise our views together. In such a time, there won’t be any differences between the ruling and the Opposition; everyone will be united on this issue. It will send a good and strong message of unity to the world.”

“Whenever such things happened, special sessions were convened. So, it will be good if a special session is held soon,” Dikshit added.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari also spoke to Media, saying, “Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge had said in the all-party meeting that the Congress party is with the government in India’s fight against terrorism. We will be with the government in whatever steps it takes. The special session will be welcomed by the Opposition.”

Congress leader Udit Raj further emphasised the need for the special session, stating that the government should have acted sooner.

“Now the matter becomes even more serious. If a terrorist was part of the Pakistani Army and their Defence Minister himself admitted that they had been providing training, and 26 people were killed in Pahalgam, necessary action must be taken,” he told Media.

“The government should call a Parliament session instead of the Opposition seeking it. It was Congress that demanded the all-party meeting. It seems the government only want to make allegations and not take action,” Raj added.

In his letter dated April 28, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “The terrorist attack in Pahalgam has outraged every Indian. At this critical time, India must show that we will always stand together against terrorism. The Opposition believes that a special session of both Houses of Parliament should be convened, where the representatives of the people can show their unity and determination.”

Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, echoed Rahul Gandhi’s appeal, stating, “At this moment, when unity and solidarity are essential, the Opposition believes that it is important to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament at the earliest. This will be a powerful demonstration of our collective resolve and will to deal with the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam on innocent citizens on April 22. It is our fond hope that the session will be accordingly convened,” his letter read.

Following the attack, the Central government convened an all-party meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Rahul Gandhi attended the meeting and extended full support to the government’s proposed actions.

The Congress party assured the government of its complete backing to take necessary steps to avenge the killings of innocent civilians in the Pahalgam terror attack.