Kolkata, Mar 30 (IANS): A special CBI court here on Thursday pulled up the agency team probing the multi-crore scam in recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal over the slow pace of investigation in the matter.

The judge of the special court even went to the extent of telling the Central Bureau of Investigation sleuths to admit if they cannot perform a timely probe in the matter.

"You better go to the Calcutta High Court and inform them that carrying out this investigation is beyond your limits. It seems that the investigation is beyond your capability," the judge told the central agency officials and its counsel on Thursday while hearing on the bail petition of former Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee.

The judge also asked the agency to fix a deadline for completion of the investigation process. The CBI counsel's reply that considering the large number of people involved with the scam, the process of probe is getting delayed irritated the judge further.

"How long will you continue to play the same record? The investigation process has to be completed even if the involvement is in thousands," the judge said.

Moving the bail plea on behalf of Chatterjee, his counsel argued that the CBI is describing his client as the mastermind in the scam despite he is being not named in the FIR. "The central investigative agency should explain why they are describing my client as the mastermind," counsel argued.

However, finally despite snubbing the CBI, the judge rejected Chatterjee's bail plea and extended his judicial custody till April 14.