Trinamool wants time-bound probe into minister’s arrest
The big cache of money recovered from the house of a female friend of Bengal cabinet minister, and the former education minister, Partha Chatterjee, and certain sensitive documents from the latter’s house as well regarding recruitments in schools, has led to a furore in political circles.
The Calcutta High Court had ordered an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe on irregularities in recruitments to teaching and non-teaching posts through the examinations conducted by the state School Service Commission over the last few years, a period of time during which the veteran Trinamool Congress leader was the minister for education.
It was in regard to that order that the ED visited the house of actress Arpita Mukherjee, said to be a close friend of the minister, in Kolkata and recovered over Rs 21 crore. The investigating agency said the money was part of the bribes allegedly taken by the minister over the years in lieu of appointing his chosen candidates in schools in violation of the rules of the published merit lists.
The agency interrogated Partha Chatterjee later into the night on Friday and arrested him on Saturday. Later, they also arrested Arpita Mukherjee.
The Trinamool leadership has sought a time-bound investigation into Chatterjee’s arrest. The party had however said it would not interfere politically if any leader had done anything wrong.
“The TMC has full faith in the judiciary. If Partha Chatterjee is pronounced guilty by the court, the party and the government will take action against him,” party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told a press conference in Kolkata.
He, though, said that “the person from whose house money has been recovered has nothing to do with the Trinamool Congress”.
