East Bengal Technical Director Subhash Bhowmick convicted in bribery case

The veteran tactician was sentenced to three years in prison but was subsequently granted bail due to illness. 

East Bengal Technical Director Subhash Bhowmick was sentenced to a three-year jail term by a special CBI court in Kolkata on Monday. The decision of the court pertains to a case dating back to 2005, when Bhowmick was arrested while taking a bribe. 

Bhowmick was arrested in 2005 after he had agreed with a Kolkata-based company, to accept a bribe of ₹1.5 lakhs, in lieu of clearing a shipment in his capacity as a high-ranking customs offocial in the city.

But, it's been revealed that Bhowmick had applied for and has been granted bail, which means he will not be forced to spend time behind bars. While Bhowmick has found some breathing space in this unexpected turn of events for himself, this incident could prove to be problematic for his East Bengal tenure.

The club have not made any official statement regarding the incident, but are now faced with an important decision with the Calcutta Football League (CFL) season only about a month away.

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While Bastob Roy was announced as the new manager of East Bengal after Khalid Jamil resigned from the post, it was widely acknowledged that he would be an understudy to Bhowmick. The Red and Gold have shaped their squad and philosophy under the guidance of the veteran tactician, but with this controversial case, they might well be compelled to part ways with him once again. This could be even more catastrophic for them as they'll have to hope that Roy can be up to the challenge and take the helm of proceedings himself.

East Bengal are currently preparing to defend their CFL title and are allegedly also in the running to compete in the Indian Super League (ISL) next season.