WB SSC scam: Partha Chatterjee OWNS cash, gold seized from Arpita Mukherjee's houses, says ED chargesheet

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which filed its first chargesheet in the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam on Tuesday, has claimed that accused Arpita Mukherjee has confessed before it that the cash and gold worth several crores recovered from her two residences in July actually belonged to former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee, the prime accused in the case.

As per sources, the ED chargesheet mentions that when she was asked about the real owner of the seized cash amounting to Rs 49.80 crore and gold valued at more than Rs 5 crore during interrogation on August 4, Arpita had admitted that so far she had repeatedly refused to disclose the real owner of the seized cash and gold. 

Later Arpita also told the central agency that she did this fearing her personal security and that of her mother. "Arpita Mukherjee then said that the seized cash amounting to Rs 49.80 crore and gold/jewellery valued at more than Rs 5 crore from her two residences belonged to Partha Chatterjee. She also filed an application for treating her disclosure as a plea for taking a lenient view under the provisions of law," said the source, citing the ED chargesheet.

In its chargesheet, the central agency claimed that Partha Chatterjee made huge cash through illegal activities and hid it in Arpita Mukherjee's house. The former Bengal minister concealed this money in the premises in the name of Arpita Mukherjee, out of which Rs 49.8 crores was recovered and seized from the two premises in Kolkata.

The agency further claimed that Partha Chatterjee exploited underprivileged people and made them dummy directors of shell companies without their consent or knowledge.

The ED also said in the chargesheet that the annual premium amount of 31 life insurance policies held by Arpita, with Partha Chatterjee as nominee in most of them, amounted to Rs 1.5 crore. The annual premium payments for all these policies, wherein Partha Chatterjee was referred to as Arpita`s `uncle`, were made from the bank accounts of Chatterjee.

WB SSC scam: Partha Chatterjee, Arpita named accused in ED chargesheet  

Partha Chatterjee and Arpita have been named as accused in the WB SSC recruitment scam. The ED has filed a 172-page charge sheet in this case. According to ED sources, assets worth around Rs 103 crore has been seized in this corruption. Most of these assets are in the names of Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee. Some assets are also in the name of shell companies. Several flats of Arpita Mukherjee were raided by the ED on July 27 and 28. Around Rs 49.80 crore and gold jewellery worth Rs 5.08 crore were seized.

(With Agency Inputs)