ED Raids Arpita Mukherjee's Flat, Connected To School Scam

Rs.29 crores in cash, 5 kg gold recovered...

Ahead of a raid conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a school jobs scam, Rs 29 crores in cash and five kilograms of gold jewellery were recovered from the second flat of Arpita Mukherjee in Kolkata, a close aide of arrested West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee.

Taking notes from the probe agency, they left Arpita Mukherjee's home in the Belgharia area of Kolkata early this morning with 10 trunks of cash after concluding the 18-hour-long raid.

According to the sources, ED officials used three note-counting machines to know the exact amount of cash seized from Ms Mukherjee's second flat.

Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee were arrested on July 23, a day after the first lot of cash was discovered at her home.

Last week, the probe agency officials recovered Rs 21 crores in cash, a huge amount of foreign exchange and gold bars worth Rs 2 crores from Ms Mukherjee's other flat in the city. They also found a diary with around 40 pages of notes that could provide crucial leads in the investigation.

Till now, Rs 50 crores in cash has been recovered from the two homes of Ms Mukherjee. Some crucial documents have also been seized that are being examined by the authorities.

The raids were carried out as part of the ED's investigation into a money laundering case linked to a school jobs scam in the state.

Partha Chatterjee, a senior minister in Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's cabinet and her close aide, is accused of having a role in allegedly illegal appointments of school teachers and staff in government-run schools when he was Education Minister.

Ms Mukherjee has reportedly told investigators that the money was kickback received for transfers and for helping colleges get recognition.

"Partha used my house and that of another woman as a mini-bank. That other woman is also his close friend," Arpita Mukherjee reportedly told investigators.