KOLKATA: Hours after Rs 27.9 crore in cash was found from her second apartment at Baranagar in North 24-Parganas in Bengal, Arpita Mukherjee on Thursday told Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials that the money was brought by the Trinamool Congress heavyweight Partha Chatterjee’s men, sources in the central agency said.
A total of Rs 49.8 crore cash has been found at her two apartments so far. Six days ago, the central agency recovered Rs 21.9 crore in cash, besides gold jewellery and foreign currencies from her south Kolkata flat.
Recovery of the huge volume of cash in the past six days is suspected to be proceeds of crime of alleged recruitment scam in schools.
Sources in the investigative agency said Arpita, a model and actor, revealed that she was told not to enter the rooms where the money was kept.
“His (Chatterjee’s) men used to visit my apartments with cash. They used to keep them inside the rooms. I had clear instructions not to enter the rooms were the money was stashed,” Arpita reportedly told the investigators.
The ED is yet to interrogate Chatterjee and Arpita, his close aide, face-to-face. During the 24-hour raid, ED officials found cash totalling to Rs 27.9 crore stashed in Arpita’s second apartment. “Other than the wardrobes in the bedrooms, the cash in denominations of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 currency notes was also found in the washrooms. We also recovered gold jewellery and bars weighing 6 kg,’’ said an ED official.
The central agency also came to know about Arpita’s two others apartments in Chinar Park in North 24-Parganas and Nayabad in Salt Lake, where searches are currently taking place. BJP national vice-president Dilip Ghosh has raised an allegation, saying TMC MP Saugata Roy used to visit Arpita’s apartment at Baranagar frequently.
“Saugata Roy used to visit Arpita’s apartment frequently. He is also involved in the scam,” alleged Ghosh.
Roy, however, refuted the allegation, saying he would quit politics and resign from his MP post if Ghosh can prove his charges. “This is a baseless allegation. The area falls under my Lok Sabha constituency and I have an office in the housing complex. It is natural to visit my office. But I never visited Arpita’s apartment. If Ghosh can prove his allegation, I will quit politics and also resign as MP,” said Roy.
Meanwhile, the Enforce Directorate conducted a raid at another apartment linked to Arpita Mukherjee, in the city's Chinar Park area on late Thursday evening, an official said.
The ED sleuths raided the flat a day after recovering around Rs 28 crore in cash from another flat of Mukherjee who was also arrested by the central agency in connection with the investigation into the school jobs scam.
From her yet another flat in the city last week, the ED had seized over Rs 21 crore unaccounted cash.
"This (Chinar Park) apartment belonged to Arpita Mukherjee and we suspect that like her other flats, cash can be stacked here as well. We are talking to the neighbours and trying to find out what kind of activities have been carried out here," the ED official said.
Since the door was locked and the keys could not be traced, the agency had to break it open amid the presence of central force officers.
During questioning earlier in the day, Mukherjee gave them details of the Chinar Park property.
The investigators are still ascertaining the value of the gold jewellery, believed to be several kilograms, seized from her flats.
The CBI, as directed by the Calcutta High Court, is probing the alleged irregularities committed in the recruitment of Group-C and D staff as well as teachers in government-sponsored and aided schools on recommendations of the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC).
The ED is tracking the money trail in the scam.
Chatterjee who was the education minister when the alleged irregularities took place was arrested on July 23.
He was stripped of all his cabinet portfolios and party posts earlier in the day.
Thieves strike at Arpita’s farmhouse
A theft took place at a farmhouse, which is said to be owned by Arpita Mukherjee, in Baruipur on the southern fringes of Kolkata. Neighbours told police that they woke up on hearing the sound of breaking locks.
“They spotted four men. One of them threatened them with dire consequences. The neighbours didn’t muster the courage to raise an alarm. They said they saw the men leaving the house with three gunny bags,” said a local police officer.
The ED has found papers related to properties and shell companies in the name of Arpita.
(With PTI Inputs)
School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam