Partha Chatterjee, Arpita Mukherjee sent to judicial custody till Aug 31

Kolkata, Aug 18: Former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his aide Arpita Mukherjee have been sent to Judicial Custody till August 31 by a special court in Kolkata in connection with the SSC scam case.

The ED has claimed that it recovered Rs 49.80 crore in cash, jewellery, and gold bars from apartments owned by Mukherjee, besides documents of properties and a company in joint holding.

The duo is facing charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Earlier this month, Arpita Mukherjee's advocate claimed that there was a threat to her life in jail and pleaded before the court to get her Division 1 prisoner category.

ED advocate Phiroz Edulzi agreed with the argument of Arpita's lawyer of life threat and further said that she should not be kept with more than four prisoners in general.

Chatterjee has been removed from the Bengal cabinet after his name surfaced in a multi-crore scam. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made Bratya Basu the new education minister of the state.