BHUBANESWAR: In a major development, arrested West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee will be shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar on Monday following an order from the Calcutta High Court.
The HC passed the order while hearing ED’s plea against transfer of the WB Commerce and Industry Minister to State-run Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial (SSKM) Hospital.The court observed that more than one senior leader of ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) who were arrested or directed to appear before the ED for interrogation managed to avoid the agency in the recent past by getting admitted to SSKM Hospital.
The court directed Bhubaneswar, AIIMS to examine Chatterjee by a team of cardiology, nephrology, respiratory medicines and endocrinology specialists.The doctors have been asked to prepare a report and hand over copies of the same to the Central agency’s investigating officer (IO), medical official of SSKM and advocate of Chatterjee by 3 pm on Monday.
As per the court’s order, the accused should be taken to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata by an ambulance from the SSKM Hospital. Chatterjee will be accompanied by his advocate and a doctor of SSKM Hospital.
The IO will forward a soft copy of the report to his counterpart in Kolkata who, in turn, will produce it before the learned Special Judge under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the court said.
The special judge will take up hearing of the case at 4 pm on Monday and the IO has been asked to produce the accused for a virtual hearing in the case.
ED on Saturday had arrested Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee in connection with the teacher recruitment scam.The agency recovered cash amounting to over Rs 20 crore from Mukherjee’s Kolkata residence on Friday. On Saturday, a Kolkata court remanded Chatterjee to ED custody for two days in connection with the case.