Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested former West Bengal Education Minister, Partha Chatterjee in connection with the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Primary Education Board recruitment scam. The arrest comes following the raids by the central probe agency where it seized crores in cash from the premises of his close associate Arpita Mukherjee, in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in the state.


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While the ED's search operation continued throughout Friday, the biggest surprise came in the evening. After the recovery of Rs 21 crore from Arpita Mukherjee's house, a series of questions started emerging. With the naming of Arpita Mukherjee - who has also been a model and an actress - the masses' interest was further piqued. And now, a new name is coming to the surface - that of a Monalisa Das. So who is she, let's find out.


Partha Chatterjee arrest: Who is Monalisa Das?


According to various sources, Monalisa is also known to be close to Partha Chatterjee. ED has traced at least 10 flats in Monalisa's name. She joined Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol in 2014. She is currently heading the Bengali department at that university.


According to sources, questions were raised about the appointment of Monalisa as a professor. She allegedly got the job through influence and many suspected Partha Chatterjee had a special role behind that appointment. Currently, if you check the website of Kazi Nazrul University, you will see that the name Monalisa Das appears as the head of the Bengali department. Monalisa Das, who is also under ED scanner, has a house in Santiniketan. While it is not yet clear how her relationship with Partha Chatterjee is right now, questions are being raised as to how a professor has so many flats in her name.


Meanwhile, cash worth Rs 21 crore was recovered from Arpita Mukherjee's Haridebpur flat. That picture of stacks of cash has already been released by ED. According to the sources, Arpita is close to Partha Chatterjee. Apart from cash, 20 mobile phones were also recovered from her house. Now, the ED is trying to find out how Arpita or Monalisa amassed such huge wealth and properties, and how and if Partha Chatterjee is behind all this.