Hakim: Will choose self sacrifice if any evidence of graft is found against me
Kolkata: Following allegations of recruitment corruption in a specific department of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), levelled against Firhad Hakim by the BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh who also demanded a CBI probe, the Mayor said that if ever any evidence of corruption is found against him he will opt for “self-sacrifice’.
Hakim has been targeted by one of the BJP councillors of the civic body, Sajal Ghosh who alleged that several persons were recruited to a certain department in KMC in 2017 from the area of Chetla, an area where Hakim lives. Sharing a list of names, Ghosh wrote on his Facebook page that about 148 people were recruited in total to a certain department in KMC.
Out of this, 118 people belong to Nadia and adjoining areas while 24 people hail from Chetla which is Bobby (Firhad) Hakim’s area.
He said that since the copy of the letter shared by him allegedly bears the names of the municipal secretary, he would like to question him and the Mayor about why people from only these areas applied for the jobs and whether there is any similar corruption involved akin to the one unearthed in the state’s education sector.
Replying to the allegation, Hakim told the media that this was an apparent attempt to malign one’s reputation.
He said people get jobs by giving exams. “What am I to do in this?” he questioned.
Hakim further said: “If ever any evidence of corruption is found against me, the need for a CBI probe will not arise since I will sacrifice myself before that.” Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to file a separate case in the matter concerning alleged irregularities in recruitment in municipal bodies in the state.
During their search at the Salt Lake property of a private promoter Ayan Seal in connection with the teachers’ recruitment scam, ED sleuths had reportedly uncovered several crucial documents relating to copies of advertisements for recruitment for different positions in different municipalities in the state and even some copies of appointment letters.
