KOLKATA: A Special Court in Kolkata has sent former Minister Partha Chatterjee and his close associate Arpita Mukherjee to two more days of ED custody till August 5th in the alleged SSC recruitment scam on Wednesday.
But the war of words between the learned counsels from both sides once again lit up the courtroom.
Looking at four days of remand for the accused duo, ED counsel argued that time is required to investigate the source of money.
“We need to find out the source of these properties, 9 flats and ₹49.8 crores of cash. From where the money has come and how it has come. It’s not mentioned anywhere,” ED counsel argued.
“We also want to know the bank details. They are tight-lipped,” ED counsel argued saying Banerjee, who was suspended from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress following the ED custody, is “uncooperative” as compared to his aide Mukherjee.
“Arpita is comparatively more cooperative than Partha, although not fully,” ED counsel said in the court.
Countering the arguments, the defence counsel for Chatterjee said, “The accused is an aged person and nothing was seized from him. He was arrested on 23rd (of July) but practically spent the entire 22nd (of July) in detention.”
Arguing on bank details, the defence counsel said, “Only a pan card is enough to know the bank details and all the accounts he holds.”
Praying for his client’s bail, the counsel pointed out, “Not a single seize was made from my clients’ place. What cooperation do they want?”
In return, the ED counsel, while asking for extending the custody, said, “Wasted two days because of being in hospital. Flats and documents belonged to him. Every day we are recovering something or the other.”
Meanwhile, Mukherjee’s lawyer did not apply for bail. But he sought legal consultation.
“We seek legal consultation and that is a fundamental right. It can be done in the presence of ED officials,” the counsel pleaded.