Arpita Mukherjee's annual life insurance premium at Rs 1.5 cr

KOLKATA: The annual premium amount for 31 life insurance policies of Arpita Mukherjee, perceived to the closest confidant of former minister Partha Chatterjee in the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) scam, is to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore, according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The figure was quoted by the probe agency in its first charge sheet that was submitted to a special ED court on Monday.

It is also mentioned that Chatterjee himself was the nominee for most of these life insurance policies.

What is more interesting is that such a huge premium was paid from the different bank accounts of the former state education minister, as per records of bank statements recovered by the central agency sleuths.

In these policies, Chatterjee was mentioned as Mukherjee's uncle.

"This entire sequence of insurance policies and their payment process are proof enough to nullify the argument raised by some sections that Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee were mere acquaintances. These life insurance policies are solid proof of how intimate the two were," said an ED official.

Apart from these lpolicies, some other land property jointly owned by Chatterjee and Mukherjee will also come handy for the central agency sleuths to establish the intimate relationship between the duo, the official noted.

In the charge sheet, the ED hasnamed a total eight persons -- Chatterjee, Mukherjee and six directors of shell companies floated with the purpose of diverting scam proceeds to different channels.

The probe agency has mentioned assets worth Rs 103.10 crore held by Chatterjee and Mukherjee.

ED officials said that the assets include cash amounting to Rs 49.80 crore and gold worth Rs 5.08 crore seized from the two residences of Mukherjee in Kolkata in July.

The remaining amount is in the form of other immoveable assets like bank deposits, property in the form of land and residences and investment in a number of companies.

It has also named Chatterjee and Mukherjee as the prime accused in the scam.