West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today sacked Partha Chatterjee as minister from her Cabinet as he turned into a huge political liability after the Rs 50 crore seizure in hard cash by the Enforcement Directorate.
The removal of Chatterjee from the industry minister’s post comes five days after he was arrested for alleged corruption in the recruitment of teachers and other staff in state government schools.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday morning left the Belgharia residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee, after filling ten trunks with cash amounting to approximately Rs 29 crore that was found there.
Earlier, Rs 21 crore was recovered from her residence in South Kolkata.
This brings the total cash recovered from her premises to Rs 50 crore so far in the raids being carried out in connection with the teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.
A huge amount of foreign exchange and gold bars worth Rs 2 crore have been seized from Arpita Mukherjee's two flats.The 30-year-old model, actor and popular Instagrammer owns at least three flats, they added.
Arpita is reported to have told ED officials that the money belonged to Partha Chatterjee and had come as kickbacks received for transfers and for helping colleges get recognition.
The ED officers also found a diary with around 40 pages of notes. BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi today told reporters that this "black diary" will help uncover "black deeds".
The flat of her mother at Belgharia Club town in North 24 Parganas and three other premises have been covered in the action initiated on Wednesday. One of the two flats of Arpita Mukherjee, in Belghoria, has been sealed by ED.
ED officials also conducted a raid at the residence of businessman Manoj Jain in Ballygunge. Jain is reportedly an aide of state minister Partha Chatterjee.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Partha Chatterjee in connection with the West Bengal Primary Education Board recruitment scam.
The ED unearthed many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal's Diamond City.
Facing the opposition's anger after Mr Chatterjee's arrest, Mamata Banerjee last week said that she doesn't support corruption and that the arrested minister should be punished if found guilty.
