The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday continued searches at the residential premises of Arpita Mukherjee, a “close aide” of West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in the state.
The ED on Friday launched raids where it seized cash worth around Rs 20 crore from Arpita Mukherjee’s house.
Besides this, the ED also raided the premises of Minister of State for Education Paresh C Adhikari, LA and former chairman of West Bengal Board of Elementary Education Manik Bhattacharya and others.
“The said amount is suspected to be the proceeds of the said SSC scam offense,” the Federal Investigation Agency said in a statement. The search team took the help of bank officials to count the cash through the machines.
The ED said that over 20 mobile phones have also been seized during the raids at Arpita’s premises, though the purpose and use of the recovered phones is being ascertained.
Others who were raided included PK Bandopadhyay, OSD to Partha Chatterjee when he was earlier the state education minister, his then private secretary Sukanta Acharya, Chandan Mandal alias Ranjan, a “broker”, who allegedly ran the school. He used to take money on the promise of giving. Teacher Jobs, Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, son-in-law of Partha Bhattacharya; Krishna C. Adhikari, and Dr. S.P. Sinha, Advisor to the West Bengal Central School Service Commission – Convenor of the five-member committee.
Kalyanmoy Ganguly, former chairman of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education; Soumitra Sarkar, former chairman of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission; And raids were also conducted on Alok Kumar Sarkar, Deputy Director of School Education Department.
“Many incriminating documents, records, details of suspicious companies, electronic equipment, foreign currency and gold have been recovered from the premises of the persons linked to the scam,” the agency said.
The ED’s money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR, which was earlier directed by the Calcutta High Court to probe an alleged scam in recruitment of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees, assistant teachers of classes 11 and 11. primary teacher.
ED is carrying out search operations at various premises linked to recruitment scam in the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Primary Education Board. pic.twitter.com/i4dP2SAeGG
— ED (@dir_ed) July 22, 2022
A source said that at least seven to eight ED personnel reached Partha Chatterjee’s residence in Nakatla in south Kolkata around 8.30 am and carried out searches along with CRPF personnel till 11 am. Spoke to Mekhaliganj in Cooch Behar district and his family members.
Chatterjee had the education portfolio when the alleged scam was reportedly pulled out. The CBI questioned him twice, once on 26 April and again on 18 May. The CBI had also questioned the Minister of State for Education, Adhikari as his daughter had lost her job as a school teacher.