₹40 cr and counting: ED conducts raid on another flat of Arpita Mukherjee

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the money trail of the teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal, on Wednesday conducted raids on four places, including a flat owned by Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of arrested state minister Partha Chatterjee, in Belgharia near Kolkata and recovered ₹20 crore in cash from her residence, reported news agency ANI. The ED reportedly sealed the flat, where a notice pasted mentions a due maintenance amount of ₹11,819 against Arpita's name.

Earlier on Saturday, the ED had seized ₹21.9 crore in cash from another flat in Kolkata owned by Arpita. The central agency also arrested her next day. This time, the cash was found in another apartment owned by her at Belgharia in the northern fringes of the city.

The ED raided Arpita's property located at Belgharia Town Club. According to the ED, the flat of her mother at Belgharia Club town in North 24 Parganas and three other premises has been covered in the action initiated on Wednesday.

Cash counting machines were also brought by ED to the residence of Arpita.

ED sleuths had to break open a door to get into two flats in Belgharia's Rathtala locality as the keys to open them could not be spotted.

"We have found a good amount of money from one of the flats in a housing complex. We have brought three note counting machines to know the exact amount," he told news agency PTI when contacted.

Several “vital” documents were also found in the flats during a search. During questioning, Mukherjee informed the ED about her properties in and around Kolkata. Since Wednesday morning, the agency has been conducting raids at those properties.

Asked about the questioning of the minister and Mukherjee, the official said that though she has been "cooperative throughout", Chatterjee was not. The CBI, as directed by the Calcutta High Court, is looking into the alleged irregularities committed in the recruitment of Group-C and D staff as well as teachers in government-sponsored and –aided schools on recommendations of the West Bengal School Service Commission.

The ED is tracking the money trail in the scam. Chatterjee was the education minister when the alleged irregularities took place.