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.
The accused have been identified as Nitin Pratap alias Atul and Sandeep Kumar -- residents of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh. Police said the accused used a Suzuki Gixxer motorcycle for the last two months to commit the crime in Gurugram and Rajasthan, and they used to travel from Tapukara in Rajasthan once a week to snatch mobile phones.
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A gofundme has raised US$70,000 for the victim family. The bodies of the four family members – who have been identified after autopsies as Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife Vaishaliben Patel, 37, daughter Vihangi Patel, 11, and son Dharmik Patel, 3 – are currently lying in a morgue in Winnipeg.
Senior advocate and Additional Solicitor General Rupinder Singh Suri passed away, sources said here on Monday. According to reports, he was battling Covid-related complications for over a week. He is survived by his wife Gurvinder and advocate daughters Suruchi and Simar.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana told the Punjab government counsel to advise his government to refrain from launching criminal cases against the political opponents, just before the election. The top court directed Majithia to surrender on February 24 before the trial court and seek regular bail.
The chief minister further said that from Monday onwards, they have started recouping farmers' loss. "By providing them with a financial assistance of Rs 20,000 per acre, Delhi is paying the highest compensation amount across the nation," he tweeted, adding that they have handed over cheques amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh or 3 lakh.
