By Rohini Chatterji
The School Service Commission (SSC) scam case involving West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged close associate Arpita Mukherjee grew murkier as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) discovered more cash in Mukherjee's home on Wednesday.
This comes days after Chatterjee and Mukherjee were both questioned by the ED in the SSC scam case. They were both arrested on July 23. Irregularities in recruitments through the SSC in West Bengal came to light after several petitions were filed in the Calcutta High Court.
What did the ED find?
NDTV reported that the ED found cash worth Rs 29 crore and five kilograms of gold jewellery from Mukherjee's home in Kolkata's Belgharia. The raid took about 18 hours and the ED left with 10 trunks of cash.
ED officials also carried out raids in other locations such as Rajdanga, where Mukherjee allegedly has another flat.
The total amount of cash found in Mukherjee's possession adds up to Rs 50 crore.
Also read: Why Was TMC's Partha Chatterjee Arrested? All You Need To Know About The SSC Scam
TMC spokesperson reacts
While West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had already said that the TMC would not tolerate wrongdoings by ministers or members of the party, the official spokesperson of the party, Kunal Ghosh, has now openly called for Chatterjee's resignation. However, his statement indicates that this may not be the official line of the party.
Ghosh took to Twitter to comment on the recent discoveries of the ED saying, "Partha Chatterjee should be removed from ministry and all party posts immediately. He should be expelled. If this statement considered wrong, party has every right to remove me from all posts. I shall continue as a soldier of @AITCofficial."
What is the SSC scam?
The CBI and the ED found several "anomalies" in the recruitment process of teachers in government-aided or funded schools in West Bengal. Chatterjee was the state minister of education when the recruitment process began.
Investigation revealed that the family of Biswambhar Mandal, Chatterjee's personal security guard, had unduly benefitted from the scam and had gotten 10 of his relatives jobs illegally. Petitioners had also alleged that people who did not appear for exams or scored low marks made it to the list of selected candidates.
Read more on the SSC scam here.
