Kolkata, July 24 (UNI) A local court on Sunday remanded Arpita Mukherjee, arrested after the alleged recovery of huge wealth, including nearly Rs 22 crore cash from her South Kolkata flat two days back, to the custody of Enforcement Directorate (ED) for days.
The ED has claimed that Mukherjee, a model and actor, was a "close associate" of West Bengal Commerce and Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee, who has been arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in government-aided schools during his tenure as State Education
Minister.
The Central agency, which is probing the money trail of what is being called the School Service Commission (SSC) scam, has expressed its suspicion that the money, as also 1.5 kg gold and Rs one lakh worth foreign currency recovered from Mukherjee's flat, could be the "proceeds of the scam".
At the Bankshal Court, while the ED counsel sought a 14-day remand for Mukherjee, her lawyers pleaded for bail.
After hearing both sides, the judge dismissed the bail plea and sent her to ED custody for a day.
The case would again be heard on Monday.
Chatterjee, who has been sent to ED custody for two days, would also appear in the same case on Monday.
While arguing for Mukherjee's 14-day remand, the ED counsel compared the recovery of wealth from Mukherjee's flat to the peeling of an onion.
"It is just like peeling of an onion. The more you peel, the deeper you get. Similarly, the more we probe, more information will tumble out," it added.
The ED counsel also submitted Mukherjee's medical certificates in court and claimed that she was fit.
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