WBSSC scam: Four missing vehicles of Arpita Mukherjee under ED scanner
Darpan News Desk IANS, 29 Jul, 2022 03:02 PM
Kolkata, July 29 (IANS) Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths, probing the multi- crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities scam, are now currently hunting for four missing vehicles from the Diamond City residence of Arpita Mukherjee in South Kolkata's Tollygunge.
The central agency sleuths recovered huge treasures for the first time on July 22 from the Tollygunge residence.
According to the ED sleuths, five parking slots were reserved for Arpita Mukherjee at the Diamond City complex. And as per records five high-end vehicles, which include two Mercedes Benz vehicles, one Honda City, one Honda CR-V and Audi A4, were parked there till July 22 evening when the Central agency sleuths started raiding her flat in this housing complex.
However, ED sources confirmed that by the time they concluded the search and seizure operations on July 23 early morning, four of the five vehicles went missing. "We have been able to trace just one white- colour Mercedes Benz vehicle, which we have confiscated. We are trying to track the remaining four vehicles and checking the CCTV footage in the housing complex within the period when these vehicles went missing," confirmed a central agency official.
The ED sleuths do not rule out the existence of cash, gold or other crucial documents in the missing four vehicles. It is learnt that out of the four vehicles Arpita Mukherjee used the two Mercedes Benz vehicles and the remaining three vehicles were used for other purposes.
Meanwhile, expressing surprise over the missing vehicles, BJP's national vice president and party MP Dilip Ghosh said that surely there was negligence on the part of the ED officials that led to such a development. "The central agency officials should be careful when they are handling such sensitive cases," he said.
Meanwhile, both Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee were presented at the ESI Hospital in Joka in the southern outskirts of Kolkata on Friday afternoon for medical examinations. The reactions from the two were totally different.
Arpita Mukherjee broke down into tears while coming down from the ED vehicle, Partha Chatterjee said just one line to the media, that he is a "victim of conspiracy".
Ridiculing Chatterjee's one liner, state Trinamool Congress general secretary and party spokesman, Kunal Ghosh said that in such cases the natural reaction would have been -- "I am innocent".
"However, if ParthaChatterjee really thinks that he is a victim of conspiracy, he should prove that in the court," Ghosh said.
Meanwhile, India logged 27,254 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The country also reported 219 Covid deaths in the same time span. The country presently has nearly 3.75 lakh active cases.
At a virtual Covid-19 review meeting, the Chief Minister said vaccine effectiveness is evident from the data being analysed. Special efforts were made to reach out to the government employees, and those who continue to avoid getting vaccinated will now be asked to go on leave till they get the first dose.
DGP Dinkar Gupta said with the case load decreasing, people had started being lax about wearing masks, which the Health Department should strictly enforce with the help of the police.
Additional Chief Secretary Devendra Singh and Deputy Commissioner of Karnal Nishant Yadav are participating in the meeting. From the farmers side, BKU president Gurunam Singh Chaduni and the state leadership will present their demands.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Balbir Singh Rajewal told the media here after the day-long deliberations with the political parties, except the BJP, that they had told the political parties not to hold big rallies till elections in the state are announced.
Naqvi further stated that the long-pending demand of Kartarpur Corridor has been fulfilled and the government has also decided to start the 'Gurudwara circuit train' that will take passengers on a pilgrimage across the country.
