ED had also recovered 20 crore from the house of his close associate, Arpita Mukherjee, several hours before the arrest
Partha Chatterjee. PTI
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested West Bengal Minister and Mamata Banerjee’s close aide Partha Chatterjee in connection with the teacher recruitment scam in the state. ED had also recovered 20 crore from the house of his close associate, Arpita Mukherjee, several hours before the arrest.
The arrest was made at the premises of Chatterjee in Kolkata. “Chatterjee was not cooperating with our officers who were questioning him since Friday morning. He will be produced before a court during the day,” the ED official told PTI. This is the first arrest by ED in this case.
Aninda Raut, Chatterjee’s advocate, told Indian Express that they have not received the seizure list or the arrest memo yet. He will be produced in the court today, and they have been asked to come to CGO Complex in Kolkata, where massive security has been deployed.
According to ANI, ED on Friday conducted raids at the residences of Partha Chatterjee, Paresh Adhikari and several others. Rs 20 crore and 20 mobile phones were recovered from Mukherjee’s house, who was later detained.
ED also found gold, foreign currency, and other incriminating documents from the premises of several other persons who are linked to the scam.
Apart from ED, the scam is also investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). ED is investigating the money trail in the scam, while CBI is looking into the irregularities in the recruitment.
Recently, the Calcutta High Court had directed the CBI to investigate the recruitment scam of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ staff, assistant teachers of class 9th to 12th, and primary teachers.
Chatterjee, who was the state education minister from 2014 to 2021, was grilled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April and May this year in connection with the scam.
The BJP also demanded a reply from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on this issue. According to PTI, the BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh said. “The CM must issue a statement over the arrest of a cabinet minister. The arrest proves that the TMC is knee-deep in corruption,”
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said Chatterjee’s arrest reflects the “Bengal model of development” practised by TMC leaders. “Involvement of TMC ministers and leaders in corruption is an example of ‘Bengal model of development’. The seizure of Rs 21 crore in cash is just the tip of the iceberg. The CM should come out with a reply on this,” he added.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh stated that, “We are keeping a close watch on the situation. We will come out with a statement at an appropriate time.”
Speaker Biman Banerjee said the ED must inform the speaker before arresting a member of the assembly. “The ED or CBI, while arresting any MP or MLA, has to inform the speaker of the Lok Sabha or assembly. This is the constitutional norm. But I have not received any communication from ED about Chatterjee’s arrest,” he added.
With inputs from agencies
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