The Enforcement Directorate said Friday that it had recovered about Rs 20 crore from Arpita Mukherjee, who is allegedly close to former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee, in connection with the School Service Commission recruitment scam.
“During the course of searches, the ED has recovered huge cash amounting to approximately Rs 20 crore from the residential premises of Arpita Mukherjee, who is a close associate of Shri Partha Chatterjee. The said amount is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the SSC Scam. The search team is taking the assistance of bank officials for the counting of cash through cash counting machines. A total of more than 20 mobile phones have also been recovered from the premises of Ms. Arpita Mukherjee, the purpose and use of which is being ascertained,” read a statement issued by the ED.
The agency also said a number of incriminating documents, records, details of dubious companies, electronic devices, foreign currency and gold had also been recovered from the “premises of the persons linked to the scam”.
“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,” the ED tweeted sharing pictures of cash allegedly recovered from Mukherjee’s house in south Kolkata.
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
The other people whose houses were searched include Partha Chatterjee, currently minister for commerce and industry; Paresh C Adhikary, minister of state for education; Manik Bhattacharya, MLA and former president of the West Bengal Board of Primary Education; P K Bandopadhyay, officer on special duty to Chatterjee; Sukanta Acharjee, private secretary to Chatterjee; Chandan Mondal alias Ranjan, an alleged agent in the scam; Kalyanmay Bhattacharya, son-in-law of Partha Bhattacharya; Krishna C Adhikary, a relative of Kalyanmay; Dr S P Sinha, advisor to the School Service Commission; Kalyanmoy Ganguly, former president of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education; Saumitra Sarkar, former president of the West Bengal Central School Service Commission; and Alok Kumar Sarkar, deputy director of the school education department.
The Calcutta High Court recently directed the CBI to investigate the scam involving the recruitment of non-teaching staffers (Group C and D), assistant teachers for Classes 9-11 and primary teachers. The ED is investigating the money-laundering allegations in the scam.
