Former West Bengal education and industry minister Partha Chatterjee was released on bail on Tuesday, three years after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA from Kolkata’s Behala West constituency was admitted at a private hospital on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass since January with kidney and heart ailments.
His release followed the completion of the examination of witnesses before a trial court on Monday in connected cases being probed by the CBI.
“This is a legal process. Chatterjee was in judicial custody for more than three years,” TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said while reacting to the development.
Although TMC chairperson and chief minister Mamata Banerjee claimed after Chatterjee’s arrest that he was a victim of a conspiracy, the ruling party suspended him.
He was the TMC secretary general and the state’s industry minister in 2022.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Bengal unit president Samik Bhattacharya said Chatterjee’s release was not a proof of his innocence.
“Law says all accused persons are entitled to bail but that does not free them of the charges. The trial will continue,” Bhattacharya said.
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The investigation into the case began in May 2022 when the Calcutta high court ordered the CBI to probe the irregularities in such appointments through West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education exams (WBBSE) between 2014 and 2021.
Chatterjee has been a member of West Bengal’s legislative assembly since 2001 and a minister in the state from 2011 to 2022. He held the education portfolio since 2016.
It is alleged that a section of appointees paid bribes in the range of ₹5-15 lakh to get jobs after failing the selection tests.
The ED arrested Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee on July 23, 2022.
ED has said in its chargesheets that it has traced cash, jewelry and immovable property worth ₹103.10 crore linked to the duo.
Chatterjee’s son-in-law Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya is also an accused in this high-profile case alongside several TMC leaders, MLAs and former government officials.
The Calcutta high court granted the bail in September and directed Chatterjee to surrender his passport and not to leave the jurisdiction of Kolkata’s Alipore court where the trial has started.
The court also directed that the TMC MLA cannot be appointed to any public office until the trial ends. The bail however could not be executed in September since the statements of eight key witnesses had not been recorded till then.
