Partha Chatterjee, Arpita sent to jail till August 18

Kolkata: Former Education minister of West Bengal Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee were sent to 14 days in judicial custody by a special court in Kolkata on Friday in the SSC scam case.

Special PMLA court judge Jibon Kumar Sadhu granted 14 days' judicial remand of Chatterjee and Mukherjee on a prayer by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The court rejected a bail prayer of the former minister and directed that both the accused be produced on August 18 when the matter will be heard again.

In the evening, Chatterjee was taken to Presidency Correctional Home while Mukherjee was taken to Alipore Women's Correctional Home.

On Friday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials produced Chatterjee and Mukherjee at the court following their health check-up at Joka ESI Hospital. During the hearing, the ED lawyers appealed for their judicial custody as the investigation is not over yet.

On the other hand, Chatterjee's lawyer Krishna Chandra Das appealed for his bail against any condition. Das also told the court that Chatterjee is also thinking about resigning from his MLA post as people may say that he is influential. He argued that the investigating agency has found nothing from Chatterjee. Das further raised questions about the authenticity of the documents produced by the ED. While talking to media persons, he claimed that the insurance policies in the name of Mukherjee which were found by the ED are forged.

Though Mukherjee's lawyer did not appeal for her bail, a submission was made about the security of his client. The ED lawyer also agreed to this point and appealed for necessary direction to the correctional home about her security. Later, the court directed the correctional home authority to be cautious about her safety and report to the court at regular intervals.

The court directed the superintendent of the Presidency Correctional Home here, where Chatterjee is to be lodged, and the superintendent of Women's Correctional Home at Alipore, where Mukherjee was directed to be lodged, to allow the investigating officer of the case to interrogate them.

The correctional home superintendents were directed to render all necessary cooperation to the investigators and to submit reports in court on the next date of hearing.

While arguing about Chatterjee, the lawyer representing ED stated that several deeds and bank accounts along with 31 insurance policies of Mukherjee were found. In the insurance policies, Chatterjee is the nominee. However, detailed information can be provided only by the insurance company. These apart, forensic audits of the bank accounts need to be done and after that, interrogation of the accused persons can be conducted in future if needed.