Ranaghat, Sept. 01: In a fresh embarrassment to the Bengal BJP, the Ranaghat police have begun a probe against BJP’s Ranaghat south MLA Mukut Mani Adhikari allegedly for taking money from an unemployed youth promising him to arrange a job in the group C employees’ category at the AIIMS Kalyani.
The probe has begun on the basis of a complaint lodged on August 30 by Ajit Ghosh, a resident of Habibpur-Birpara of Ranaghat in Nadia, who has claimed that he paid the BJP MLA Rs. 2.5 lakhs for the job as the first installment out of Rs.10-lakh which he had allegedly demanded.
Taking cognizance of the complaint, the Ranaghat police has begun a case against Adhikari, who is a physician by profession, and charged him with cheating, dishonesty, and criminal breach of trust under the relevant section of the Indian Penal Codes.
Superintendent of Ranaghat police Avijit Banerjee told The NfN, “We have begun a probe. But it is quite at an early stage now. We are examining all the aspects..”.
He, however, refused to disclose whether the BJP MLA has been summoned for submission of his version of the allegation.
Earlier in June’s first week, the CID began a probe against four senior leaders of Bengal, which include party MP and junior union education minister Subhash Sarkar, Ranaghat MP Jagannath Sarkar, Bankura MLA Niladri Sekhar Dana, and Chakdah MLA Bankim Ghosh allegedly for influencing recruitment at the AIIMS Kalyani.
The fresh case started at a time when ED and CBI arrested two senior leaders of the ruling party Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal for their alleged involvement in the school teacher recruitment scam and in the cow smuggling racket.
In his complaint job seeker Ajit Ghosh, who works as an AC mechanic stated that he came in touch with Adhikari before the 2021 assembly poll and urged him to help him to get a job.
“It was Mukut Mani Adhikari who told me that he would be able to get me recruited at AIIMS Kalyani for Group C or Group D job. He also told me that for Gr C jobs an aspirant has to pay Rs.10 lakh and for Gr D jobs the amount is Rs.8 lakh. I told him to get me a Gr C job. He then demanded an advance assuring that the appointment would be made after he won the poll”, Ajit Ghosh in his complaint said.
“I sold a shop located at Habibpur market and withdrawn my savings to pay Rs.2.5 lakh as advance to Mukutmani during March. The amount was handed over at his private clinic along with my curriculum vitae. But after winning the poll he snapped ties with me. He stopped receiving my calls. I personally met him but he ignored me”, Ghosh stated further.
Mukut Mani, however, rubbished the allegations. Speaking to The NfN he said, “I don’t know the complaint at all. This is a conspiracy to implicate me with false allegations. Let the AIIMS find out if I made any recommendations to them. A section of Trinamul Congress has been trying to malign me”
“Many people came to me before the poll for different purposes. It is not possible for me to know the actual motive behind such meet. I used to welcome all who seek to meet me at my office, my chamber, and even at my home. I apprehend some big heads are involved in this conspiracy, which needed to be found out…I don’t even rule out that it is the handiwork of the Trinamul who might be injected a mole into our party as a spy element before the assembly polls…But I am ready to face any inquiry…”, Adhikari added further.
BJP’s Nadia North organizing committee and president and Party MLA Partha Chatterjee said, as “This case is a deliberate ploy to avenge the CBI and ED probes with the aim to divert the attention of people from the SSC and cow smuggling probe”.
Meanwhile, CID has examined some advertisements posted on social media platforms seeking job applications for recruitment at AIIMS. Sources said fake job applications are also being sold at Naihati rail stations.
The advertiser also posted their contact numbers. This correspondent called one such number which asked to send the CV and Rs.550 through UPI. “Once selected for the job the requisite amount will be deducted from. your salary…”, said the man on the other part of the phone who introduced himself as a staff of the recruitment agency of AIIMS Kalyani.
AIIMS Kalyani Executive Director Ramji Singh and its official spokesperson did not respond to calls for their reaction.