Arrested Bengal minister’s 'close aide' remanded to one-day ED custody

A city court on Sunday remanded Arpita Mukherjee, an alleged close associate of arrested West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, to one-day Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody.

Mukherjee was arrested by the ED on Saturday after grilling her for several hours at her residence in a posh apartment block in south Kolkata, where crores of rupees in cash and other valuables were allegedly recovered by sleuths of the central agency.

Metropolitan Magistrate Namrata Singh, in charge of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court, directed that Mukherjee be produced before the designated ED court on Monday.

ED counsels, including Abhijit Bhadra, had prayed for 14 days’ custody of Mukherjee.

Noting that the investigation is at an initial stage, the court said ''custodial interrogation of the accused is necessary for extracting the whole truth of the case”. In his submission, Bhadra likened the investigation in the case to peeling onion petals – as new revelations come to the fore with the peeling of each petal. He also said the recoveries from Mukherjee's residence were like “discovering Alibaba's treasures in a hidden cave”.

Chatterjee, the West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister, was arrested by the ED on Saturday in connection with its investigation into an alleged school jobs scam.