'It's not mine, this MONEY...', Partha Chatterjee makes EXPLOSIVE claim

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New Delhi: Former West Bengal minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Partha Chatterjee on Sunday (July 31, 2022), while talking to the reporters, denied any connection with the money which was found by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during the raid at the minister’s and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee’s residence. 

“This is not my money. I have nothing to do with this money,” exclaimed Partha Chatterjee. He also said that he is “not feeling well.”

The ED had arrested Partha Chatterjee on July 23 in connection with the case of alleged irregularities in the recruitment drives by the School Service Commission (SSC) which took place when he was the Bengal education minister from 2014 to 2021. Chatterjee's close aide Arpita Mukherjee was also arrested and ED has seized crores of rupees from her houses in different parts of Kolkata. 

Crores of rupees in cash were found at apartments of his aide, Mukherjee, besides gold believed to be in kilograms, documents of properties and foreign exchange were recovered by the ED, forcing the TMC to suspend him and take away his ministerial portfolios.

Meanwhile, ED has begun the process of freezing five bank accounts of Arpita Mukherjee, where they have found at least Rs 2 crore, a senior official said yesterday. Other bank accounts, linked to several "shell companies" allegedly operated by Mukherjee, are also under the ED's scanner, he said.

"The process of freezing Mukherjee's five bank accounts has started. A total of around Rs 2 crore has been found in these accounts. We suspect these accounts were used to carry out several transactions and further probe is underway," the ED official said.

Chatterjee's bank accounts are also being checked, he said.