Court sends Partha Chatterjee and close aide Arpita Mukherjee to jail till 18 Aug

A Kolkata Court on Friday sent former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his associate Arpita Mukherjee to judicial custody till 18 August in connection with Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into the money trail in the School Service Commission appointments scam. Next court production is on the aforementioned date.

Chatterjee and Mukherjee have been in ED remand since their arrest on July 23 in connection with the agency's investigation into the alleged money trail involved in illegal appointments of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government sponsored and aided schools.

Chatterjee has been relieved of his ministerial duties by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while Trinamool Congress has removed him from all posts he held in the party.

The ED has claimed that out of the 15 days that Chatterjee has been in its custody, at least two days were wasted owing to his admission to the state-run SSKM hospital here.

Chatterjee was sent to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for medical checkup on the order of Calcutta High Court and the doctors there had said he did not require any immediate intervention.

The ED has claimed to have recovered Rs 49.8 crore in cash, a huge quantity of jewellery and gold bars from flats owned by Mukherjee, besides documents of properties and of a company joint held by the two accused.