Kolkata: Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of West Bengal Commerce and Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee will be produced before Bankshall Court in Kolkata on Sunday in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in the state. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will seek her custody today.
On Saturday ED arrested Mukherjee after the probe agency recovered huge cash amounting to approximately Rs 20 crore from the aide Arpita Mukherjee's residence on Friday. Earlier on Saturday, ED also arrested Partha Chatterjee following the raids by the probe agency which seized Rs 20 crore in cash from her residential premises in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in the state.
After his arrest, the Bankshall Court in Kolkata granted ED two days of custody of Chatterjee on Saturday. However, Chatterjee developed pain in his heart and was later admitted to SSKM hospital. Notably, ED prayed before the magistrate to allow Chatterjee to be taken to Command Hospital instead of state-run SSKM.
ED said that Chatterjee is a senior minister and his roots are deep in government hospitals, where he can be influential. However, the court ordered Chatterjee to be taken to SSKM Hospital. "Partha Chatterjee (West Bengal cabinet minister and former Education Minister of the state) is not feeling well. He has developed pain in his heart. We demanded that proper medical facilities should be given to him if ED's custody is granted," said Chatterjee's lawyer.
Pertinent to mention, the arrests were made at Chatterjee's residence in Kolkata where the ED team was present since Friday. Earlier on Friday, ED officials raided the residences of West Bengal ministers Partha Chatterjee and Paresh Adhikari and several others and recovered huge cash amounting to approximately Rs 20 crore from the residential premises of Arpita Mukherjee.
The said amount is suspected to be the proceeds of the crime of said SSC scam. The search team is taking the assistance of bank officials for the counting of cash through cash counting machines. A total of more than 20 mobile phones have also been recovered from the premises of Arpita Mukherjee, the purpose and use of which are being ascertained, said the probe agency.
Besides cash, a number of other incriminating documents, records, details of dubious companies, electronic devices, foreign currency and gold have also been recovered from the various premises of the persons linked to the scam. (ANI)
