SSC recruitment scam: ED sleuths get wind of Partha-Arpita's joint companies

The ED on Wednesday revealed that former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his close associate Arpita Mukherjee of being the directors of the fake companies.

Kolkata(West Bengal): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths in the controversial School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam during interrogation revealed that former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his close associate Arpita Mukherjee have been found to own two companies as directors registered in the city.

According to the ED sources, the documents obtained indicate that the companies were registered between 2011 and 2012. The address of both the companies is in the heart of the city. Besides this, the investigators have found out the whereabouts of several other properties belonging to Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee.
ED detectives recovered three diaries during a search operation at Partha Chatterjee's Naktala residence.

Each page of these three diaries contains several accounts and money transaction details. The sleuths feel that Arpita Mukherjee and Partha Chatterjee's joint company was only on papers and were not that active. Earlier, ED sleuths traced several anonymous land and houses belonging to Arpita Mukherjee, Partha Chatterjee, and various fake companies.

Bank accounts belonging to several "shell companies" of Mukherjee are also under ED scanner, he said. "The process of freezing Mukherjee's three bank accounts has started. A total of around Rs 2 crore has been found in these accounts. We suspect these accounts were used to carry out several transactions and further probe is underway," the official said.

He said a decision on freezing the bank accounts of the "shell companies" is yet to be taken while refusing to divulge the amount in those accounts. "We have sought the details of these bank accounts from the authorities concerned. After going through the accounts, we will decide our next course of action," he said. The ED sleuth said the agency will continue grilling Mukherjee to know whether she has any more bank account details. Chatterjee's bank accounts are also being checked, sources said. Interrogation of both Mukherjee and Chatterjee is underway since morning, they said.