Kolkata, Aug 18 – The proposed march to the School Service Commission (SSC) office in Salt Lake by members of the unemployed qualified teachers’ forum could not take place on Monday after police detained its convenor Suman Biswas earlier in the day.
Biswas had called for the protest demanding reinstatement of teachers who lost jobs due to the SSC recruitment scam, along with fresh appointments for qualified but unemployed youths. He had announced the plan on social media and informed the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate via email. However, permission for the march was denied.
On Sunday, police alleged that organisers were planning a violent agitation involving petrol bombs. Early Monday, Biswas’s house in Bandel, Hooghly was searched, and later he was detained at Adisaptagram station while travelling to Kolkata. His family alleged that police surveillance began from dawn and that he was picked up without explanation.
By evening, Biswas was released without any case being lodged. His brother, Sanjay Biswas, told reporters that Suman was not even informed where he was being taken.
The police later released an audio clip of an alleged phone conversation between two job-seekers, claiming it revealed plans to hurl petrol and socket bombs at officers during the march. On Monday, Murshidabad police arrested Rezaul Karim from Jalangi, identifying him as one of the voices in the clip.
However, the police faced criticism for detaining Biswas and arresting Karim. At the Bidhannagar Chief Judicial Court, the judge reprimanded the police and granted bail to Karim after they failed to charge him under relevant sections.
Despite Monday’s events, discontent continues among unemployed teachers, who insist that their struggle for fair recruitment and justice in the SSC scam will persist.
