Kolkata, Nov 3,2022: Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay of the Calcutta High Court, who has been in the headlines because of his judgements in the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) scam, said on Thursday that at times he wonders whether the real masterminds behind the teacher recruitment scam will be nabbed during his lifetime.

“Everyone knows who are the real culprits behind the scam. At times I wonder whether the real masterminds behind the scam will be nabbed during my lifetime. However, I feel the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will surely be able to track the real culprits,” Justice Gangopadhyay said during his interaction in the court with a citizen of Kolkata.

The citizen, Sunil Bhattacharya, introduced himself as a resident of Naktala, adjacent to the residence of former state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, who is currently in judicial custody as the prime accused in the teacher recruitment scam.

“Although currently I stay in Bhubaneswar, I am originally a resident of Naktala. The entire locality was aware of Partha Chatterjee’s extravagant lifestyle, his pets and a seperate flat dedicated to them. Only the police seemed to not know anything. Sir, you are doing a great job. You are the pride of Bengal. Even my 92-year-old mother often speaks about you often,” Bhattacharya told Gangopadhyay.

In reply, Gangopadhyay made his observations on the masterminds behind the scam, which has created ripples in the legal and political circles of the state.

During the course of conversation, Gangopadhyay also said that the matters of pride for West Bengal have been tarnished to a great extent.

“Few years back when I was travelling from Puri to Kolkata, one of my fellow passengers told me that in West Bengal one has to pay for college admission, which is not the case in Bhubaneswar. We must restore the pride of Bengal. Let us all try for that,” he said.