The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) has expressed its inability to bear the expenditure of hiring cyber and software experts by the CBI to recover the data regarding optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets used in the written examination for recruitment of primary teachers in state-run schools.
On July 5, Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take the help of specialised agencies or individuals like cyber and software experts, even from abroad if necessary, to recover the OMR data.
At the same time, Justice Mantha also directed that the entire cost for bearing the assistance of expert agencies should be borne by the West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE).
However, sources said that the WBBPE authorities have recently forwarded a communique to the CBI’s Nizam Palace office in central Kolkata expressing its inability to bear the expenditure on this count.
Sources further said that there is a possibility that the board authorities will also refer the matter to the appropriate bench of the Calcutta High Court and explain the reasons.
Meanwhile, the matter of irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers has been transferred to the single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha from that of Justice Mantha as the latter has been elevated to the position of heading a division bench of Calcutta High Court.
Immediately after the order from Justice Mantha on this count, the CBI officials took the help of independent cyber experts and conducted marathon raid and search operations this month at the office of S. Basu Roy & Company, the outsourced agency responsible for proving optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets for written examination for primary teachers’ recruitment.
During the raid and search operations, the CBI officials accompanied by independent cyber and software experts seized 34 electronic gadgets from the office of the outsourced agency.