The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Trinamool Congress general secretary and Mamata Banerjee’s close aide Partha Chatterjee after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) found cash worth Rs 20 crore from an aide’s house.
This major action has been taken against him in connection with the teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal. Partha Chatterjee is the Minister of Industries and Parliamentary Affairs of the state. He was arrested after about 26 hours of interrogation. During the raid on Friday, the investigating agency had found Rs 20 crore in cash from the house of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Partha Chatterjee.
According to the officials, “Arpita is close to former education minister Partha Chatterjee and the envelopes containing Rs 20 crore found from his residence belong to the education ministry.”
Partha Chatterjee has previously been the education minister of the state. He was arrested from his residence in Kolkata. According to the information, Partha Chatterjee’s health had deteriorated during interrogation, so he has been taken to the hospital. ED has taken Arpita Mukherjee into custody. Around a dozen people, including two ministers of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal, were raided at their homes on Friday in a teacher recruitment scam.
Moreover, ED officials also reached Partha Chatterjee’s house on Friday morning. The raids continued even today (Saturday). Raids were also conducted at the premises of Partha Chatterjee and Minister of State for Education Paresh Chandra Adhikari.
Meanwhile, BJP is constantly attacking CM Mamta Banerjee after ED raids. Party leader Suvendu Adhikari and state president Sukant Majumdar have attacked TMC. Majumdar said Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal model is where money stolen in recruitment scams is now coming to the fore.
However, a bench of the Calcutta High Court had ordered a CBI inquiry into the recruitment process of teachers in government-aided schools. Significantly, the Enforcement Directorate is probing a case of alleged money laundering in the recruitment of non-teaching staff and teachers for government-aided schools.
