New Delhi: The West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested from his residence in Kolkata post an overnight interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday.
The action comes a day after Rs 20 cash along with multiple property documents and jewellery worth Rs 50 lakh was recovered from the house of Arpita Mukherjee, who is said to be a close aide of Chatterjee.
The raids have been conducted by the central agency in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam also known as SSC scam in the eastern state. Chatterjee, Mukherjee, and others in the case are accused of money laundering.
Who is Arpita Mukherjee?
ED has named Mukherjee as a ‘close associate’ of the Trinamool minister Partha Chatterjee. Arpita is an actress by profession and have worked in several Bengali, Odia, and Tamil films.
“A multi-talented versatile actor, having worked in several films in Tollywood”, her bio at social media site Meta reads.
Mukherjee is best known for her roles in 2009 Bengali film ‘Mama Bhagne’ opposite superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee and ‘Partner’ alongside actor Jeet in year 2008.
In year 2019 and 2020, Mukherjee was the main face in the promotional campaigns for Chatterjee’s Durga Puja committee named Naktala Udayan Sangha.
Mr Partha reportedly used to visit Arpita Mukherjee quite frequently and both were often seen together on various political and non political events.
From the raids conducted at the premisis of Mukherjee on Friday, the probe agency issued multiple pictures of heap of cash in denomination of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500, apart from some sealed packets of cash whose amount has not been disclosed yet.
Other than Rs 20 crore and jewellery worth Rs 50 lakh, ED also recovered over 20 mobile phones from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee
