Rs 50 crore in cash, gold bars, dollars, and more: Inside Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee’s loot

The school jobs scam involving West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress leader Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee has shaken state politics and caught the attention of the entire nation. Days after the arrest of the duo, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) continues to carry out raids and unearth how they swindled money and a lot more.

Chatterjee, a senior minister in West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet and her close aide, is accused of playing a role in allegedly illegal recruitments of teachers and staff in government-run schools when he was the state education minister. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the alleged irregularities in the scam, while the ED is tracking the money trail.

Also read: Partha, Arpita and mountain of cash: 10 images of TMC’s Bengal that shook India

We take a look at all that was found on Chatterjee and his right-hand woman, actor-model Mukherjee.

Rs 29 crore in cash, gold bars

The ED carried out a fresh raid at Mukherjee’s apartment complex in Kolkata’s Belgharia locality on Wednesday and reportedly left this morning with 10 trunks of cash. The operation continued for 18 long hours.

About Rs 29 crore in cash, five kilogrammes of jewellery and gold bars have been recovered from Mukherjee’s flat – the second to be raided since 22 July, a day before her arrest.

West Bengal | Huge amount of cash recovered from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee, at Belgharia Town Club. Rs 15 Crores counted so far, further recovery of money is expected. pic.twitter.com/MY2vtTx5jg

— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2022

Three note-counting machines were used by ED officials to count the mountains of money. “We have recovered a huge amount of money from one of the flats in a housing complex… Besides cash, gold bars, jewellery and other documents have also been recovered,” an ED official told The Indian Express.

The keys to the flat at Club Town Heights were not to be found and the ED officers reportedly had to break into two other houses linked to Mukherjee. The searches were carried out after the minister’s aide provided information to the probe agency during the investigation following the arrests.

WB SSC recruitment scam | North 24-Parganas: ED officials leave the Belgharia residence of Arpita Mukherjee, close aide of WB Minister Partha Chatterjee, after filling 10 trunks with cash amounting to approx Rs 29cr found there; a total of Rs 40cr found from her premises so far. pic.twitter.com/t9gEIHyb08

— ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2022

The first raid at Mukherjee’s house

In an earlier raid at Mukherjee’s other flat in Kolkata, ED officials recovered Rs 21 crore in cash -- all in ₹500 and ₹2000 denominations, American dollars worth Rs 50 lakh, and gold bars worth Rs 2 crore. A diary with 40 pages of notes, which has provided important leads in the investigation, was also recovered.

Mukherjee’s two flats have been raided and so far Rs 50 crore has been found as part of the loot. Some crucial documents were also seized along with 20 mobile phones.

The money was part of the bribe received for transfers and for helping colleges get recognition. “Partha used my house and that of another woman as a mini-bank. That other woman is also his close friend,” Mukherjee told investigators.

Inside Partha’s closets

A known face in West Bengal, Partha Chatterjee is one of the rich politicians in the state. His total wealth was Rs 1,15,94,863, according to his 2021 election affidavit. However, the raids have revealed that the minister is far wealthier.

Most of what Chatterjee earned in bribes in cash seems to have been hidden in Mukherjee’s flats. The ED seized at least 13 deeds from the politician’s house, some of which were linked to Mukherjee. “At least one deed, comprising 44 pages, which dates back to 2012 suggests that the duo knew each other at least for the last ten years,” an ED official told The Hindustan Times.

The ED has unearthed many disproportionate assets, including the one from where the cash has been recovered, which the minister reportedly gifted to Arpita Mukherjee. It was discovered that in addition to the apartment he stays in, Parth Chatterjee owns three other properties in south Kolkata’s Tollygunge area. One of these flats is used exclusively for his dogs.

The raids have revealed incriminating evidence about the Trinamool leader’s role in the scam. The probe agency has seized a hard disk, a mobile, papers relating to the appointment transfer of posts and admit cards of candidates for the teacher’s post. The list goes on.

A copy of a document related to the revised result of the Teacher Eligibility Test 2012, a copy of a chart relating to proposed teachers’ posting, and a copy of a paper relating to a committee of higher authority of the state school service commission, reports The Hindustan Times.

On Monday, the ED counsel had informed the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata that another ₹100 crore was waiting to be seized. So far, the ED has recovered around ₹50 crore from the raids.

Trinamool’s stand

The scam has left the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool red-faced but the chief minister seems to have turned her back on the arrested leader.

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Gosh on Thursday said that the senior leader has brought “shame and disgrace to all of us”.

“This development is a matter of great concern. Such incidents have brought disgrace to the party and shame to all of us. He (Partha Chatterjee) is saying why he would quit as minister. Why is he not saying in the public domain that he is innocent? What is stopping him from doing that?” said Ghosh, reports NDTV.

At a function in Kolkata on Wednesday, the chief minister slammed the “media trial” in the case. “People have the right to make a blunder… If someone makes a mistake and it is proven under the law, there will be action and punishment against them. But before the judges can pronounce their verdict, there is a media trial against people,” she said.

With inputs from agencies

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