Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday produced Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of TMC minister Partha Chatterjee, in the court and sought her custody for at least 14 days. Likening her to an ‘onion’, the ED officials told the court that just as ‘when you peel an onion, you unravel layers,’ a further probe is needed to ferret out more information.
“We demanded at least 14 days’ custody so that we can dig deeper into the case. A heap of cash amounting to Rs 21 crores, foreign currency and a jewellery box – reminiscent of Alibaba’s treasure trove -- were found on her premises. Envelopes scribbled with Partha Chatterjee’s name were also recovered; so, we wanted to investigate further,” said ED sources, giving the rationale for their plea in the court.
The ED officials also submitted medical certificates in the court and claimed that she was fit. “Arpita can resort to theatrics and claim that she is not well. So, we have submitted medical certificates which clearly indicate that she is fit,” added sources.
Arpita’s lawyer, in turn, demanded bail and claimed that she would ‘cooperate’ with the investigation. Dismissing the bail plea, the court gave the ED a day’s custody of Arpita.
He lawyer, Niladri Bhattacharya, said that the court had said that Arpita should be quizzed in the presence of woman officers and also that she cannot be questioned between 9 pm and 6 am.
“Medical tests should be conducted every 24 hours. No matter how much the ED likens her to an onion, they will find nothing,” insists Bhattacharya. While being taken to the court Arpita said that she has faith in the judiciary and also that she is ‘not’ from any party.
Meanwhile, the ED has decided to send notices to two textile companies, the directors of which are close associates of TMC minister Partha Chatterjee.
“Arpita was modelling for these textile companies. We suspect that there is more money involved which was being sent to Bangladesh through the ‘hawala’ route. We would also like to ascertain whether bribes were taken in lieu of job promise,” said ED sources.
