Kolkata: In the wake of the two consecutive recoveries of Rs 49.10 crore cash and gold from two of her residences in Kolkata's Tollygunge and Belgharia, Arpita Mukherjee a close aide of arrested West Bengal Commerce & Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee on Thursday confessed to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that she was forced by Chatterjee to allow her houses to be used to store the illegal cash.
According to ED sources, Mukherjee also admitted that the cash recovered from her residence was parked there by Chatterjee with the help of one of his close associates unknown to her. "She has confessed that Chatterjee used to come to both her Tollygunge and Belgharia residences once or even twice a week, and during his visits, he was accompanied by a person unknown to her.
Mukherjee has also confessed that she did not even have access to the keys of the cupboards from where the cash recoveries were made. There were strict instructions from Chatterjee not to fiddle with the cupboards and also avoid frequenting the rooms where these cupboards were," an ED official confirmed. It is learnt that whenever Chatterjee visited Mukherjee's residences, the Minister had closed-door meetings with the unknown person in which she was not allowed to participate.
"While making these confessions, Mukherjee into tears a number of times and was constantly claiming that she was exploited. Now we have to get access to that unknown person referred by her. It is only Partha Chatterjee who can answer this," said an ED official. A truck of RBI left Arpita's residence ferrying recovered cash and gold in ten steel trunks on Thursday morning.
Soon after the ED sleuths on Wednesday evening witnessed the bundles of cash in Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations in the cupboard of the bedroom in Arpita's Belgharia flat on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, they guessed that the cash stacked here might be much higher than what was recovered from her Diamond City residence.
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"So, we did not take the risk and requested jumbo currency counting machines which can count more notes at one go. Our request was adhered to and soon officials from the State Bank of India reached with four such jumbo currency counting machines which can count 1,000 notes at one go and in a minute. Still, it took till early Thursday morning to complete the counting process as well as loading them in the steel trunks," the official said.
"In addition to that, we have also recovered around six kg of gold, in the form of bars and ornaments, valuing more than Rs 4 crore. So total cash recovery from the two flats of Arpita Mukherjee amounts to Rs 49.10 crore," the official said. Several silver coins have also been recovered from the Belgharia residence, the market value of which is yet to be ascertained.
The officials said that the total cash recovery from the Belgharia residence of Arpita Mukherjee has been recorded at Rs 27.90 crore, as against Rs 21.20 crore recovered from her Diamond Park residence. Leader of the opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari said that even after this huge cash recovery if Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not remove Partha Chatterjee from the Cabinet, it will be evident that the share of the illegal cash is not just restricted to Partha Chatterjee.
Partha Chatterjee was arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teachers and non-teaching staff in government schools when he was the state education minister. The Trinamool Congress leadership is under immense pressure from within the party to relieve Partha Chatterjee of his ministerial and party posts with immediate effect.
"Partha Chatterjee should be removed from ministry and all-party posts immediately. He should be expelled. If this statement is considered wrong, the party has every right to remove me from all posts. I shall continue as a soldier of AITC official," Trinamool Congress state general secretary and party spokesman, Kunal Ghosh said in a tweet.
Without naming the Minister, youth Trinamool Congress leader Debangshu Bhattacharya said in a social media post that "it is better to puncture that boil to give the body a relief". Ghosh said that whatever is happening is a matter of grave concern and really very shameful. "However, I am sure that the party leadership is keeping a close watch on the entire development and will take the appropriate decision at the right time," Ghosh said.
