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SSC job scam: Ex-Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, close aide’s ED custody extended till Aug 5
Former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee were arrested by the ED on July 23.
A special court in Kolkata on Wednesday extended the custody of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his close-aide Arpita Mukherjee till August 5 in connection with the multi-crore SSC recruitment scam. The duo have been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its investigation into the recruitment scam.
Earlier in the day, Chatterjee and Mukherjee were produced before the court as their 10-day ED custody came to an end. They were arrested by the central agency on July 23.
During the ED's raids, nearly ₹50 crore in cash along with gold worth lakhs were recovered from apartments linked to Mukherjee. Partha Chatterjee, 69, said last week that the seized money did not belong to him.
According to ED, Mukherjee has said during interrogation that the former state minister and his men stashed the cash in her apartments and she was never allowed to enter those rooms.
An ED official also told Hindustan Times on July 31 that the agency also traced six bank accounts in which a cumulative sum of around ₹8 crore was found. Chatterjee was the holder of most of these accounts, the official added.
Once considered to be a close aide of Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Chatterjee said he is a victim of conspiracy and expressed unhappiness over the ruling camp’s decision to remove him from all party posts.
He was relieved of his duties as the minister-in-charge of various departments last week.
(With agency inputs)
