Kolkata, Mar 25 (IANS): With the arrest of a top official of an OMR sheet manufacturing entity, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths have got the details about the number of OMR sheets that were allegedly tampered with in different examinations for recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal state-run schools.

These examinations were conducted by West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

According to sources, during the interrogation of Niladri Das, the vice-president of OMR sheet manufacturing entity, NYSA, the CBI sleuths have secured information about 8,163 OMR sheets that were allegedly tampered with to make room for ineligible candidates.

Sources, citing CBI sleuths, claimed that as many as 6,304 OMR sheets were tampered with in case of non-teaching staff, which included 3,481 Group-D posts and 2,823 Group-C posts.

In case of teaching staff, the total number OMR sheets that were tampered with stands at 1,859, out of which 952 were for recruitment of secondary teachers while the remaining 907 were for recruitment of teachers at higher secondary level.

"Our sleuths are now trying to track how Das financially benefited from this tampering of OMR sheets," said a CBI associate.

Das is currently in CBI custody and is facing marathon investigation by the central agency.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that this is not the first time that Das had been arrested. In March 2019, he was arrested by the sleuths of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal police in a case of forgery following an FIR filed against him in East Midnapore district.

Preliminary investigation by the central agency have revealed that Das's connection with the WBSSC was through the commission's former chairman Subiresh Bhattacharya.