West Bengal SSC Scam: Partha Chatterjee Remanded to Judicial Custody Till 5 Oct

Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee were arrested by the ED on 23 July in connection with its probe into the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday, 21 September, rejected the bail prayer of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and remanded him and three others to judicial custody till 5 October in connection with its probe in the SSC recruitment scam.

The three others sent to judicial custody till the same date are former West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) president Kalyanmoy Ganguly, who was arrested by CBI on 15 September, former secretary of West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) Ashok Saha and its former advisor SP Sinha.

The special court had on 16 September given CBI the custody of Chatterjee till Wednesday on a prayer by the agency for questioning him in connection with the case, which it is investigating on an order of the Calcutta High Court.

Chatterjee and his alleged close associate Arpita Mukherjee were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the reported money trail in the SSC recruitment scam and seized Rs 49.80 crore in cash, apart from bullion, jewellery and property deeds from the latter's flats in the city, on 23 July.

The ED has alleged in a charge sheet submitted before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act court that the total worth of the seizures, including the cash, is over Rs 100 crore.

The former minister is also in judicial remand in connection with the case.

Chatterjee, who held the education portfolio when the alleged scam took place from 2014 onwards, was relieved of his ministerial duties by the Mamata Banerjee government following his arrest. He held several portfolios including parliamentary affairs, industry and commerce when he was arrested.