Synopsis
A Kolkata court has allowed Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, son-in-law of ex-West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee, to become an 'approver' in the major school job scandal. This development may significantly impact the ongoing investigations by the ED and CBI.Key Takeaways
- Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya turns approver in school job case.
- Special court in Kolkata approves his application.
- Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust implicated in scandal.
- ED names 53 individuals and firms in charge sheets.
- Bhattacharya's statement may strengthen the case against Chatterjee.
Kolkata, March 14 (NationPress) A special court in Kolkata has sanctioned the request made by Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, the son-in-law of the former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, to become an “approver” in the extensive school job scandal in West Bengal.
According to insiders familiar with the proceedings, Bhattacharya, who is also identified as a suspect in the subsequent charge sheets issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to the school job scandal, had recently filed a petition in a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata, expressing his intention to turn “approver” in the case.
Sources mentioned that the approval from the special court has been granted, and following the court's directive, a “confidential statement” provided by Bhattacharya to a judicial magistrate will now be documented.
Bhattacharya was associated with a trust named Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust, named posthumously after Partha Chatterjee's wife, which allegedly facilitated the misappropriation of funds in the school job case. This trust has been labeled as an “accused entity” in later charge sheets filed by the ED.
The primary allegations against the trust suggest that substantial proceeds from criminal activities, collected through a network of agents as large sums of cash, were misrepresented as donations to the trust. Subsequently, this cash was utilized to acquire various properties registered under the trust's name.
Evidence and documentation procured by both the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is also probing the school job scandal, have been corroborated by Bhattacharya during his interrogations with the investigative authorities.
Sources added that Bhattacharya’s “confidential statement” to be documented in front of a judicial magistrate will offer the investigative officials a vital asset to strengthen the case against Partha Chatterjee.
The ED has cited a total of 53 individuals as defendants in their subsequent charge sheets, comprising 29 individuals and 24 corporate entities or trusts.
In addition to Partha Chatterjee and Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, his close associate Arpita Mukherjee is also mentioned as an accused in the charge sheets.
Besides the Babli Chatterjee Memorial Trust, other corporate entities have also been implicated in the charge sheets. A corporate entity linked to another key accused, Sujay Krishna Bhadra, who previously served as the chief operating officer (COO), is also cited as a defendant in the ED's charge sheet.
