WBSSC Scam: Another woman close to Partha Chatterjee under ED lens

The role of another woman, reportedly a close aide of arrested Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, has come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the multi-crore financial scam relating to the recruitment irregularities in the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

Earlier on Saturday, the ED had arrested Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Chatterjee, the current state Commerce and Industries Minister. Her arrest from her residence in South Kolkata was officially announced by the ED at 5.14 p.m. on Saturday, about seven hours after the probe agency nabbed Chatterjee.

The name of the second woman under the ED's radar is Monalisa Das, the head of the department of Bengali at state-run Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol in Burdwan district.

ED sources said that the name of Das came up from the statements made in the face of interrogation by Mukherjee.

It is learnt that in 2014, when Chatterjee was the state Education Minister, Das was appointed directly as the head of the department of Bengali.

Her appointment had created ripples at that point of time, since as the head of the department, Das was directly promoted to the rank of associate professor from her position as assistant professor. Many people had then alleged that Das' close association with Chatterjee helped her get the prized posting.

ED sources said that the agency has come across at least 10 flats which are registered in the name of Das and most of these flats are located in Bolpur-Santiniketan in Birbhum district.

"The total value of these flats is highly disproportionate to the declared income of Das," an ED official said.

However, Das has so far claimed total ignorance in the entire matter.

"I as a teacher knew Partha Chatterjee, who was then the Education Minister. So in a sense he was my guardian," she said.