Partha Chatterjee’s judicial custody in the school recruitment scam case was prolonged by the CBI court by 14 days on Monday. A special CBI court in Kolkata extended Partha Chatterjee’s judicial custody in the school recruitment scam case by 14 days on Monday.
In the early hours of the morning, Chatterjee was physically presented in the special CBI court in Alipore in relation to the federal agency’s investigation into the alleged multi-crore recruitment scam in West Bengal government schools.
He was virtually presented in the Bankshal court later that day in relation to the same scam’s ED money laundering investigation. The ED later started a case to investigate the money laundering even though the Calcutta high court had earlier this year directed the CBI to look into the West Bengal school recruitment fraud. On July 23, ED detained Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee, one of his close associates. A total of 50 crore rupees had also been confiscated by the federal agency from Mukherjee’s two apartments. Chatterjee was taken into jail by the CBI in September.
Later, the experienced politician was placed on administrative leave by the Trinamool Congress, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee removed him from the government. The following was Chatterje’s message to the media on Monday: “Everyone keep well. I continue to support the (TMC) party. I fully support the party.
Days before, TMC MP Sougata Roy had stated that Partha Chatterjee’s case was obvious because a sizable sum of cash had been found at his associate’s home. As a result, the party has penalised him severely. However, Anubrata Mondal and TMC MLA Manik Bhattacharya were not included because, as of now, only allegations of corruption against them have been substantiated. Both at the Bankshal court and the special CBI court, Chatterjee’s attorney filed a bail motion. While the CBI court denied his request for bail, the Bankshal court deferred deciding until the latest reports were received.
According to a senior attorney present in the courtroom, “Chatterjee throughout the virtual hearing begged that he was not a thief and that he should be allowed to live.”
ED rejected his request for bail on the grounds that, as a former minister, he might have a say in the outcome of the inquiry. The bureau added the scam included multiple people and that an investigation was ongoing. Arpita Mukherjee, a close assistant to Chatterjee, was likewise created digitally. On Monday, the CBI also presented several of the top former School Service Commission (SSC) officials who had been detained. They were also placed in judicial custody for 14 days.