West Bengal Min Paresh Adhikari's daughter blocked from school; asked to return salary

Embroiled in the recruitment scam, West Bengal Minister Paresh Adhikari's daughter Ankita Adhikari has been blocked from entering the school premises where she worked as a teacher till further orders, by the Calcutta High Court. The High Court bench of Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay has also directed Ankita to refund the salary she earned for the tenure she has already served.

FIR against  Paresh Adhikari, his daughter Ankita Adhikari

The development comes a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR against the father-daughter duo over allegations of irregularity committed by Paresh in securing Ankita a teacher’s job while ignoring the merit list. Adhikari, along with his daughter, was booked under IPC sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), besides sections under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The move came after they failed to appear before the CBI sleuths in Kolkata by 3 pm as ordered.

Adhikari finally appeared around 5 PM, and was grilled by the central agency for over five hours. He reached the agency office around 5 pm and left around 10:30 pm.

Petition filed against  Ankita Adhikari's Appointment 

A petition was filed by a candidate who had alleged that she was deprived of the position despite having secured higher marks than Paresh Adhikari's daughter in the recruitment examination. As per the petitioner, her name was initially featured in the merit list at number 20 but was later changed to 21 after Ankita’s name was added to the list. The CBI is presently investigating the matter.