Kolkata, July 1 : An FIR has been filed against Debasish Chakraborty, the superintendent of Presidency Central Correctional Home in Kolkata, for allowing former West Bengal education minister and Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee — the prime accused in the school jobs irregularities case — to wear rings while in judicial custody.
Based on the Calcutta High Court’s direction for initiating disciplinary action against Chakraborty in the matter, the FIR against the latter has been filed by the office of the state Additional Director General & Inspector General (correctional services department).
Although the date mentioned in the FIR is June 27, the matter has surfaced only on Saturday.
In the FIR, Chakraborty has been charged with negligence of duty under Section 83 of The West Bengal Correctional Services Act, 1992. The offender under this act can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to Rs 1,000 or with both.
In April this year, while arguing in the matter at the Calcutta High Court, Enforcement Directorate (ED) counsel Phiroze Edulji said that there had been several charges against the correctional home superintendent concerned earlier also.
“Earlier, a financial penalty of Rs 20,000 was imposed on him in a separate case. Probably, some invisible hands are active and that is why he had not been transferred elsewhere,” Edulji argued.
Edulji also submitted to the court that the fact that Partha Chatterjee was sporting rings on his fingers even while serving the judicial custody proves the extent to which he is an influential person.
“Under the jail code, it is clearly said that an inmate cannot keep along with him items like ornaments, jewellery and metal watches. It is the duty of the correction home authorities to ensure and impose the provisions of the jail code on this count. This proves how influential he is,” argued the ED counsel.
