After Bengal BJP's Suvendu Adhikari, party's West Bengal unit co-incharge Amit Malviya on Saturday hinted at a connection between Arpita Mukherjee -- minister Partha Chatterjee's aide who had ₹20 crore cash in her residence -- with chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Posting a purported video of an interaction between Mamata and Arpita at a Durga Puja event, Amit Malviya tweeted, "Not too long ago, Mamata Banerjee, from an open platform, praised Partha Chaterjee’s close aide, from whose residential premise, ED seized a small sum of 20 crore. Mamata knew of her and the 'good work' she was doing. Make no mistake, Partha wasn’t scamming on his own accord..." Also Read: Who is Arpita Mukherjee with ₹20 crore stashed at home? BJP posts pic with Mamata
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Arpita Mukherjee, a model and actor, has been referred to as Partha Chatterjee's aide by the Enforcement Directorate which raided her South Kolkata residence on Friday and recovered ₹20 crore -- all in ₹500 and ₹2,000 notes.
The ED raid at Arpita Mukherjee's residence took place while the agency was interrogating Partha Chatterjee throughout Friday. At the end of 26-hour interrogation, the minister was arrested by the ED on Saturday morning. He will be produced in the court later in the day.
{{/usCountry}}The ED raid at Arpita Mukherjee's residence took place while the agency was interrogating Partha Chatterjee throughout Friday. At the end of 26-hour interrogation, the minister was arrested by the ED on Saturday morning. He will be produced in the court later in the day.
{{/usCountry}}The money recovered may have a connection with the teacher recruitment scam, the ED said. Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the money recovered by the ED has no connection with the party. "Those who are being named in connection with the case will give their explanations or their lawyers will," Kunal Ghosh said.
In the video shared by Amit Malviya, Mamamate Banerjee said Arpita Mukherjee is Bengal's daughter but works in Odisha. She also asked her whether she can speak in Odia. While party leaders have denied any knowledge of Arpita Mukherjee, it is not yet known why the money with an alleged link with the teacher recruitment scam was with her. Arpita Mukherjee was the face of a famous Durga Puja committee which has links with Partha Chatterjee. The video shared by Malviya is apparently from an event of that Durga Puja committee.