The noose around West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee is getting tighter by the moment.
After being discharged from AIIMS Bhubaneswar where he was taken by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as directed by the Calcutta High Court, the minister was taken to the agency’s office at the CGO complex in Salt Lake and his questioning in the state School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam began. A special ED court on Monday remanded Chatterjee to ED custody till 3 August on a petition by the central agency for questioning him to unearth the alleged money trail involved in the recruitment scam.
His aide, Arpita Mukherjee, where raids were carried out and officials found heaps of cash, amounting to Rs 21 crore, has also been remanded to ED custody till 3 August.
Investigations are unearthing damning details against the senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Mamata Banerjee’s ‘right hand man’ and people around him.
The agency has issued summons to Manik Bhattacharya, TMC MLA and former president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), for questioning in connection with the alleged irregularities.
We take a closer look at the various aides of Partha Chatterjee who are now under the scanner.
Arpita Mukherjee
On 23 July, Arpita Mukherjee — who was little known to people — became a household name when ED officials raided her residence and recovered piles of cash there, totalling in excess of Rs 21 crore.
The authorities also seized from Mukherjee’s flat in Tollygunge in south Kolkata more than 50 lakh in foreign currency, 20 mobile phones and a cache of incriminating documents.
Total recovery made by ED till now stands at Rs 21.20 crore, jewellery worth more than Rs 50 lakh & foreign currency worth Rs 54 lakh along with 22 mobiles from premises of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of arrested TMC Minister Patha Chatterjee. @TheNewIndian_in https://t.co/qZ7skO9jpT
— Anand Singh (@Anand_Journ) July 23, 2022
According to the investigating authorities, the amount is suspected to be the proceeds from the recruitment scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Primary Education Board.
Described as a “close associate” of Partha Chatterje by ED officials, Arpita Mukherjee is an actor who had done minor roles in a few Bengali, Odia and Tamil films. Her Facebook bio reads, “A multi-talented versatile actor, having worked in several films in Tollywood.”
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Reports say that she had met Chatterjee nearly 10 years ago through his Durga Puja committee called the Naktala Udayan Sangha, which is one of the biggest Durga Puja committees in Kolkata.
In fact, in recent years, she has been the face of the promotional campaigns of the Naktala Udayan Sangha in recent years. Her image has featured extensively in the advertisements of Chatterjee’s committee during Durga Puja.
Videos on social media from 2020 show her sharing the stage at Partha Chatterjee’s Naktala Udayan Sangha with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
A photograph shared by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Twitter showed Mukherjee also attending TMC’s 21 July Martyrs’ Day rally.
Gracious presence of Ms. Mukherjee; "good friend" of Ex Education Minister, on stage of "historic" 21st July TMC event:- pic.twitter.com/tZwMkiqh7l
— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) July 23, 2022
Manik Bhattacharya
The ED has summoned Trinamool Congress MLA Manik Bhattacharya in the probe into illegal recruitment of teachers.
Bhattacharya joined the TMC in 2021 and won from Palashipara in Nadia district. Prior to this, he was the president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education until the high court ordered him to step down.
His summon comes after ED officials searched his house for eight hours last Saturday.
An Indian Express report says that Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay had held Bhattacharya responsible for illegalities committed in the appointment of at least 269 teachers in primary schools sponsored or aided by the state government.
Bodyguard under scanner
The investigation into the irregularities in the School Service Commission (SSC) scam has also revealed that Partha Chatterjee helped 10 of his bodyguard’s relatives get school jobs.
As per reports, a man named Biswambhar Mondal used to work as a bodyguard of the TMC minister.
A resident of the Chandipur area in the East Medinipur district, Mondal has been accused of using his connections with Partha Chatterjee to secure jobs for his brothers and cousins.
Mondal’s brothers, Bangshagopal and Devgopal, and eight of his cousins had reportedly got jobs in different East Medinipur schools using ‘concocted and fabricated papers.’
Bangshagopal, who is a TMC leader in his locality, told News18, “This is all political vendetta. They are jealous. All of us have got jobs through proper channels.”
When asked how all of them got jobs at the same time, he again said that this was all politics and there was no proof against them.
With inputs from agencies
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