After being confined in his office for nearly 40 hours, West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) Chairman Siddhartha Majumdar was allowed to leave the commission headquarters today morning, Wednesday, April 23, amid ongoing protests by hundreds of jobless teachers, said a report by PTI.
The demonstrators, primarily from the Deserving Teachers Forum, have been holding a sit-in outside the SSC building since Monday, April 21, demanding clarity and justice following the fallout of the 2016 school recruitment scam.
They temporarily lifted the gherao to allow Majumdar to appear before the Calcutta High Court, where he is expected to testify in a case related to the non-disclosure of OMR sheets from the controversial recruitment drive.
Majumdar, speaking to the media after being released, said he would rest briefly before attending the court proceedings.
Protesters cited health concerns and legal obligations as reasons for permitting his departure, but made it clear that the siege was far from over.
“Our sit-in will continue as usual. Majumdar will again be gheraoed once he returns to his office after the court proceedings," one protester said.
The Calcutta High Court is hearing a contempt petition accusing the state education department of failing to upload the OMR sheets of over 26,000 candidates — individuals who lost their jobs after the Supreme Court annulled the 2016 recruitment panel, citing widespread corruption.
Earlier this week, the SSC had shared partial data, confirming 15,403 out of 17,206 reviewed candidates as eligible. The protesting teachers, however, remain unsatisfied, calling for complete transparency and a full account of both tainted and untainted candidates, added PTI.
The Supreme Court, in a ruling on April 17, extended the services of teachers deemed untainted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe until December 31, offering relief to some. However, for the nearly 26,000 affected teaching and non-teaching staff, uncertainty continues to loom.
