The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is poised to record “confidential statements” from two additional individuals in the multi-crore cash-for-school-jobs scandal in West Bengal, with tentative dates set for March 26 and March 31, sources said on Friday. The statements, to be taken before judicial magistrates under Section 164 of the CrPC, mark a fresh twist in the probe into illegal teacher and staff appointments that has rocked the state.

The identities of the two remain undisclosed, with ED officials maintaining strict confidentiality. Sources indicate both have voluntarily approached the agency, which is investigating alongside the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It’s unclear whether they are witnesses or accused seeking to turn approvers, akin to Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, son-in-law of former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. Bhattacharya’s statement was recorded earlier this week, and a special PMLA court in Kolkata exempted him as an accused after he turned approver.

The scandal, involving fraudulent recruitments of over 24,000 school staff in 2016, saw the Calcutta High Court cancel the entire panel in April 2024, citing rampant irregularities like OMR sheet manipulation. The ED alleges proceeds were laundered through entities like the Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust, named in its charge sheets alongside 53 accused, including Chatterjee, arrested in 2022. While he’s been granted bail in the ED case, he remains jailed under CBI charges.

The new statements could shed light on the money trail and political nexus, following CBI reports of 324 candidates recommended by influential figures. As the trial progresses at Kolkata’s PMLA court, these developments signal the ED’s push to unravel deeper layers of corruption in West Bengal’s education system.