
In 4 new posts in SSC, Kolkata Police, shadow of job scam and RG Kar
The West Bengal Cabinet on Monday approved the creation of four new posts – two in the School Service Commission (SSC) and two in the Kolkata Police Commissionerate.
The Cabinet, under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, gave its nod to the creation of two Joint Secretary posts in the SSC.
Sources in the state Education Department said that while one joint secretary will look after the administration, the other will look after the examination.
'The School Service Commission has only one secretary and one assistant secretary. It is impossible to look after all the issues by these two officers. That is why the government created two more posts, so that they can assist the examination process and other administrative issues,' a senior official of the state Education Department said.
Officials said that these two posts were created following the Supreme Court's order cancelling the appointment of over 25,000 school staff, citing the 2016 recruitment exam as 'tainted'.
'To overcome the corruption image and to bring transparency in the examination process, these two posts have been created,' the official added.
In Kolkata Police Commissionerate, a new post of Joint Commissioner of Police (Legal) has been set up, who will look after the legal framework of sensitive cases and will guide the investigators accordingly, officials said.
The decision, sources said, was taken following largescale criticism of Kolkata Police handling the RG rape and murder case that led to widespread protests in the state as well as the country.
Another post of Joint Commissioner (Cyber) has also been created in Kolkata Police to tackle the rising cases of cyber crimes. 'Now, cyber crimes have increased several times and it needs more focus and attention. For that reason, the cyber cell should be expanded and for that a separate senior officer needs to be there,' a senior state police officer said.
Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal.
Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur.
He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
9 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Ahead of assembly polls: Amit Shah's ‘Mission Tamil Nadu'
The rehearsals for the assembly elections 2026 have begun with the recent visit of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Tamil Nadu last week. The stated objective is to review the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s preparedness and strengthening of ties with its allies. There is a marked difference in the tone and confidence of the BJP in approaching the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. The hard push from the above is for all to witness with the grand bargains and negotiations underway with friends and allies. There are divergent perspectives about the prospects and limitations because of the ground realities. Amit Shah's attack against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its leadership conveys the similar disdain and antipathy that BJP holds against Mamta Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal. He has gone on record stating that both TMC in West Bengal and DMK in Tamil Nadu will be defeated in the next assembly elections. Amit Shah also reiterated with the same intensity that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP will form the next government in Tamil Nadu. Though the ground realities in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are vastly different, the BJP's aggressive approach to the Tamil Nadu assembly elections 2026 cannot be overlooked. There are inter-party conflicts and intra-party issues within the NDA alliance consisting of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Desia Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT) and the BJP itself. There are core concerns about the electoral ties between the BJP and AIADMK over critical issues of alliance leadership and the AIADMK factional politics stirred and preserved by the BJP. There are hurdles and uncertainties that cannot be pushed aside with Edappadi Palanisamy remaining unmoved over the role, leadership and seat share within the NDA alliance. And his lack of enthusiasm for the reconciliation with O Paneerselvam, Sasiskala and TD Dinakaran is a matter of pragmatic challenge of electoral coordination. BJP's major challenge in Tamil Nadu is not how to run its own party but how to control and influence the AIADMK leadership as well as manage the contradictions of the factional politics. The family feud within the PMK reflecting the father-son duel and the rupture in the ties between AIADMK and DMDK are not favourable conditions for the NDA alliance in Tamil Nadu. Then why does Amit Shah talk aggressive about the change of regime in Tamil Nadu? All said and done about the shortcomings in the BJP-AIADMK alliance, BJP has been developing a parallel strategy of challenging the DMK with or without an alliance with the AIADMK. BJP has also been focusing on strengthening the organsiational machinery in Tamil Nadu. Amit Shah's meeting with the party office bearers from the state, district and mandal levels is reaffirming this objective. First, this is the real meaning of 'Mission Tamil Nadu' by overtaking the AIADMK not only as an alternative to the DMK but to redefine the electoral game in Tamil Nadu beyond the major Dravidian parties and their allies. Edappadi Palanisamy understands this ploy more than others but is helpless with his own party and flanks broken. Secondly, the BJP is not hesitant to use and apply the religious card to sway the voters like the Lord Murugan Devotees Conference scheduled next week this month. The Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple becoming a runway for the political campaign in the forthcoming assembly elections in 2026 is part of a larger design to draw the Hindu votes and spread a north centric political narrative in Tamil Nadu politics. This is also another version of BJP's growing involvement in Durga Puja festival in West Bengal in order to identify and broaden the socio-cultural basis for the party in West Bengal. BJP is keen to strengthen its presence and build stakes in Tamil Nadu politics based on the strength of its power at the Centre and the challenge of the final frontier to extend Hindutva politics. The party is more confident after its success in Odisha and Delhi and wants to push itself against the DMK with a belief that DMK is no longer invincible with an aggression matching its methods in West Bengal. There is a need to pause and reflect on the prospects and limitations of this aggressive posture and strategy in Tamil Nadu politics. The socio-political and historical roots of communal polarisation in West Bengal are vastly different from Tamil Nadu and the BJP's strategy to mobilise voters on religious cards may not be successful. There are significant issues like the language question, challenges of delimitation, the role and functioning of NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) and the Centre-state relations needs more attention and understanding to go into the electoral battle of 2026. ( Manivannan is a scholar-social activist in areas of education, human rights and sustainable development through an initiative 'Multiversity.')


Hindustan Times
9 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Teachers assigned election duty on first day of school
Mumbai: While schools across Maharashtra reopened on June 16, welcoming students with ceremonies and events, all 18 teachers of Sarvodaya Vidya Mandir, a secondary school in Malad West, were absent from classrooms on the first day of the new academic year. Instead, they were assigned to serve as Booth Level Officers (BLO) for the upcoming local body elections. The unexpected order of the election duty is posing a challenge for the school to begin academic activities. 'Many of us had previously worked in the election office for over 11 years and were eventually relieved from that responsibility. But this time, all 18 teachers and 10 non-teaching staff have received new orders from the election office,' said a teacher from the school. In a surprising turn, four teachers who had retired from the school also received duty letters. The school management is concerned about how academic delivery would be carried out with no staff left to manage students. The teachers are worried about the impact of their absence on students and said that the crucial start-of-year activities like planning sessions, student orientation, and distribution of materials have been put on hold. Raising objections to this situation, Shivnath Darade, Mumbai representative of the Shikshak Parishad, a teachers' union, and Suhas Hirlekar, the Parishad's chairperson, have written to the state education minister demanding immediate intervention. Their letter highlights that the first day of school is crucial for establishing routines and engaging students, especially to boost attendance and distribute supplies. 'In many schools, 100% of the teaching staff have been pulled out for election work. If teachers are not present on the first day, students will face academic setbacks,' the letter read. The Parishad has requested that teachers be exempted from election duties starting June 16, to ensure uninterrupted teaching. In response, Sandip Aher, a local government official, said the BLO role does not require full-time commitment. 'Teachers can complete their election duties after school hours. It's not a full-day assignment,' he explained.


Hindustan Times
9 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Projectile linked to Op Sindoor found in Jalandhar village
A piece of a foreign projectile was discovered abandoned in the agricultural fields of Jamalpur village in Jalandhar. The piece believed to be part of a missile fired by Pakistan during the recent tensions between India and its neighbouring country in May, was found by a farmer after harvesting his maize crop on Sunday evening. Local police, along with army personnel, rushed to the site and seized the broken projectile. Bhogpur station house officer Ravinder Pal said that the remnant appears to be from a missile neutralised by the Indian armed forces during Operation Sindoor in May. The army has taken the projectile piece for further investigation.