ED quizzes Bengal minister, seizes Rs 20 crore from his ‘close aide’ | India News
KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday it had seized Rs 20 crore in cash stashed in two bags and 20 cellphones after an 11-hour raid on the flat of Arpita Mukherjee, whom the agency called “a close associate” of Partha Chatterjee, former Bengal education minister .
Chatterjee, currently the state commerce and industries minister, was quizzed and the premises of his south Kolkata house searched. The premises of current education minister Paresh Adhikary was searched too.
The searches on the premises of two Bengal ministers and some other people on Friday are in continuation of a money-laundering probe initiated by the ED after the Calcutta high court had recently directed the CBI to investigate the scam in the recruitment of Group C and D staff, assistant teachers of classes IX-XII and primary teachers in West Bengal.
The ED team raided 14 addresses across the state. The ED officials were assisted by bank officials in counting the currency notes and determining the exact amount. The ED said it also recovered a number of “incriminating documents, records, details of dubious companies, electronic devices, foreign currency and gold” that could throw light on the alleged money-laundering in the state-run school appointment scam.
According to ED sources, minister Partha Chatterjee’s aide Arpita Mukherjee’s residence was not initially on the raid list. Investigators decided to raid it later, after its team got hold of documents bearing the name and addresses of Mukherjee. ED questioned Mukherjee soon after the recovery, citing her close association with the former education minister. Investigators pointed out that Mukherjee was the “brand ambassador” of Udayan Sangha Durgotsav at Naktala, patronised by Chatterjee, who holds three state cabinet portfolios.
Rs 20 crore in cash was recovered from her house even as ED officials kept questioning the former education minister at his Naktala residence on whether he had any clue about the money recovered from Mukherjee’s residence. Prior to the recovery, Chatterjee fell ill after seven hours of ED questioning in the afternoon. Chatterjee’s house physician and three doctors from SSKM Hospital were brought to the minister’s residence by a Bhowanipore police officer for a “routine checkup” on the request of ED officials.
A team of 80-90 ED officials, along with CRPF personnel from the Kharagpur camp, fanned out across the state from Friday morning and reached Bengal junior minister Paresh Adhikary’s Mekhliganj residence and also the homes of officials whose names had cropped up during investigation.
“The persons being searched include Partha Chatterjee, the current minister of commerce and industry; Paresh C Adhikary, minister of state for education; Manik Bhattacharya, MLA and ex-president of the West Bengal board of primary education; Arpita Mukherjee, associate of Partha Chatterjee; P K Bandopadhyay, OSD to the then minister of education; Sukanta Acharjee, PS to the then minister; Chandan Mondal @ Ranjan, agent in selling jobs of teachers; Kalyanmay Bhattacharya, son-in-law of Partha Bhattacharya; Krishna C Adhikary, relative of Kalyanmay Bhattacharya; Dr S P Sinha, advisor of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission; Kalyanmoy Ganguly, ex-president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education; Saumitra Sarkar, ex-president of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission; and Alok Kumar Sarkar, deputy director, School Education Department”.
Chatterjee, currently the state commerce and industries minister, was quizzed and the premises of his south Kolkata house searched. The premises of current education minister Paresh Adhikary was searched too.
The searches on the premises of two Bengal ministers and some other people on Friday are in continuation of a money-laundering probe initiated by the ED after the Calcutta high court had recently directed the CBI to investigate the scam in the recruitment of Group C and D staff, assistant teachers of classes IX-XII and primary teachers in West Bengal.
The ED team raided 14 addresses across the state. The ED officials were assisted by bank officials in counting the currency notes and determining the exact amount. The ED said it also recovered a number of “incriminating documents, records, details of dubious companies, electronic devices, foreign currency and gold” that could throw light on the alleged money-laundering in the state-run school appointment scam.
According to ED sources, minister Partha Chatterjee’s aide Arpita Mukherjee’s residence was not initially on the raid list. Investigators decided to raid it later, after its team got hold of documents bearing the name and addresses of Mukherjee. ED questioned Mukherjee soon after the recovery, citing her close association with the former education minister. Investigators pointed out that Mukherjee was the “brand ambassador” of Udayan Sangha Durgotsav at Naktala, patronised by Chatterjee, who holds three state cabinet portfolios.
Rs 20 crore in cash was recovered from her house even as ED officials kept questioning the former education minister at his Naktala residence on whether he had any clue about the money recovered from Mukherjee’s residence. Prior to the recovery, Chatterjee fell ill after seven hours of ED questioning in the afternoon. Chatterjee’s house physician and three doctors from SSKM Hospital were brought to the minister’s residence by a Bhowanipore police officer for a “routine checkup” on the request of ED officials.
A team of 80-90 ED officials, along with CRPF personnel from the Kharagpur camp, fanned out across the state from Friday morning and reached Bengal junior minister Paresh Adhikary’s Mekhliganj residence and also the homes of officials whose names had cropped up during investigation.
“The persons being searched include Partha Chatterjee, the current minister of commerce and industry; Paresh C Adhikary, minister of state for education; Manik Bhattacharya, MLA and ex-president of the West Bengal board of primary education; Arpita Mukherjee, associate of Partha Chatterjee; P K Bandopadhyay, OSD to the then minister of education; Sukanta Acharjee, PS to the then minister; Chandan Mondal @ Ranjan, agent in selling jobs of teachers; Kalyanmay Bhattacharya, son-in-law of Partha Bhattacharya; Krishna C Adhikary, relative of Kalyanmay Bhattacharya; Dr S P Sinha, advisor of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission; Kalyanmoy Ganguly, ex-president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education; Saumitra Sarkar, ex-president of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission; and Alok Kumar Sarkar, deputy director, School Education Department”.