Arpita Mukherjee - Partha Chatterjee connectionArpita Mukherjee - Partha Chatterjee connection

Arpita Mukherjee has hit the headlines and seems to hang in there for some time. Having started as a humble model-actor and nail artist in Belgharia’s Dewanpara in Kolkata where she originally comes from, rising to become an actor and film producer who would own multiple flats in posh high-rises in south Kolkata, Arpita Mukherjee’s meteoric rise has uncanny similarities with that of Indrani Mukherjee.

Arpita Mukherjee is a close aide of West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee in Mamta Banerjee’s government.

After a tip-off, the ED raided Arpita Mukerjee’s house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.

Having recovered Rs 20+ crore from her residence in South Kolkata earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) left the Belgharia residence of Arpita Mukherjee, seizing approximately Rs 29 crore that was found there.

The money was loaded in 10 trunks which were carried away by the officials.

ED sleuths on Wednesday began its searches at the premises linked to aide Arpita Mukherjee.

Media reports say the flat of her mother at Belgharia Club town in North 24 Parganas and three other premises are also subject of the action initiated by the ED.

More than 20 mobile phones have also been recovered from the premises of Arpita Mukherjee.

Besides cash, a number of other incriminating documents, records, details of dubious companies, electronic devices, foreign currency and gold have also been recovered from various premises of the persons linked to the scam.

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Arpita who comes from humble background was offered the government job when her father passed away but she refused. She was into modelling and acting and had higher ambitions.

As fate would have it, perhaps intoxicated with the smell of cash heaped around her flat, at 5.30pm on July 22, hours before the ED raid, Arpita had made an Instagram and Facebook post:

“When Dharmendra first joined the film industry, his salary was a meagre sum of Rs 51 only! Insane! Isn’t it?”

After news of the raid became public, the post was bombarded with comments like, “And your first salary is 21 crores”,

“Didi, give the 21 crores to your followers” and

“How life can change in just 20 hours”.

Her Facebook bio read, “A multi-talented versatile actor, having worked in several films in Tollywood.” She also shared philosophical advice at least twice a day. Quotes like, “If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down” make a prominent part of her feed, along with photos of her modelling for various photographers, as well as that of her lavish lifestyle, including travel. Many of these posts are now flooded with comments, like “21 cr is really heavy… you can’t fly with it”.

Mukherjee has a sister, who is married, and her mother lives in their old Belgharia home.

Arpita’s boss / mentor, Partha Chatterjee, currently the minister for industries and commerce, was the education minister when the alleged illegal appointments were made in government-run and aided schools by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC).

Many disproportionate assets of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal’s Diamond City, including a ‘palace (like flat in the luxury apartments building) for his dogs’, have been unearthed by the Enforcement Directorate.