West Bengal : Mamta government minister Partha Chatterjee arrested, court sent on two-day ED remand

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested Partha Chatterjee, a minister in the West Bengal government. It has been told that he has been arrested in connection with the teacher recruitment scam. He was then taken to appear before the local court. A day earlier, there was an ED raid at the house of his close aide Arpita Mukherjee as well. It was claimed to have received around Rs 20 crore in this raid.

It is being told that Magistrate Neelam Shashi Kujur heard the case in Bankshall Court in Kolkata. However, Parth was not produced before the magistrate. The magistrate said that since it is a special case, it does not fall within the jurisdiction of this court. After this, the court sent Parth to ED custody for two days. Since his health is not well, he will be taken to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata under ED custody. Now Partha Chatterjee will be produced in the special court on Monday at 10.30 am.

Apart from this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also arrested Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of West Bengal cabinet minister and former education minister Partha Chatterjee. The ED had yesterday recovered huge cash worth around Rs 20 crore from Arpita Mukherjee’s residence.

No money recovered from my client’s residence: Parth’s lawyer
Partha Chatterjee’s lawyer said that no money was recovered from my client’s residence and no special permission was taken to arrest him as he is a public servant. He appeared whenever called for the primary offenses but this time the summons did not come.

We trust judiciary: TMC
On the arrest of Partha Chatterjee by ED in SSC recruitment scam, TMC leader Firhad Hakim said that we are monitoring the situation and we have faith in the judiciary. TMC party or government will not tolerate any discrepancy or malpractice. TMC will take action after the decision of the judiciary.

It is worth mentioning that ED officials questioned Chatterjee overnight on Friday in connection with the alleged teacher recruitment scam. The agency officials started questioning Chatterjee at his residence at 8 am on Friday, after which he was arrested today. Chatterjee was the state education minister when the alleged scam happened. The Enforcement Directorate is probing the money laundering aspect against those allegedly involved in the scam.

Partha Chatterjee is currently the Minister of Industries and Commerce. The CBI has questioned him twice. The first questioning was done on 25 April and the second time on 18 May. The CBI has also questioned the Minister of State for Education, West Bengal. Apart from this, his daughter has lost her job as a school teacher.

What did TMC leaders say?
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “We are closely monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, Speaker Biman Banerjee said the Enforcement Directorate should inform the Speaker about it before arresting any member of the Assembly. “The ED or CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) has to inform the Speaker of Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha while arresting any MP or MLA. This is a constitutional rule, but I have not received any information from the ED about the arrest of Chatterjee.”

The ED also took into custody Chatterjee’s close aide Arpita Mukherjee, from whose premises a cash amount of Rs 21 crore was seized, an agency official said. “Chatterjee was not cooperating with our officers who were interrogating him since Friday morning. He will be produced in a court during the day.”

Rs 20 crore found at the house of the minister’s close aide
According to the information, the ED also raided the house of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Minister Partha Chatterjee in the West Bengal government. According to reports, the ED has recovered around Rs 20 crore in cash during this period. In the picture of this action that has come to the fore, a huge mountain of Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes is being seen. According to reports, apart from Arpita, the ED has raided many other places. Names like Minister Partha Chatterjee, Manik Bhattacharya, Alok Kumar Sarkar, Kalyan Moy Ganguly have been mentioned in this list. It is being told that after such a huge seizure, an RBI truck has reached Arpita’s house. Several sealed trunks have been kept in the truck.

ED’s big claim on Arpita Mukherjee
According to the Enforcement Directorate, searches were conducted at 14 places, including the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, two suspicious places. The documents recovered from his house show a direct link and exchange of money between the two parties. Meanwhile, Neeladri Bhattacharya, counsel for Parth’s close aide Arpita Mukherjee, said that I had expressed my desire to see the arrest memo of the ED and the list of seized assets, but I was not allowed. I will be able to say something only after seeing the copy of the FIR.