Teachers' scam: Judicial custody of Manik Bhattacharya's wife and son extended

Kolkata, March 6 (IANS) A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Monday extended the judicial custody of the wife and son of Trinamool Congress legislator and West Bengal Board of Primary Education's (WBBPE) former President Manik Bhattacharya in connection with the multi-crore teachers' recruitment scam.

Incidentally, neither did Bhattacharya's wife Satarupa Bhattacharya nor son Souvik Bhattacharya moved any bail plea at the special court on Monday, though both have earlier moved the Calcutta High Court challenging Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s move to name them in the supplementary charge sheet in the scam.

Bhattacharya's wife and son were arrested by ED in the matter on February 22. After they surrendered at the court on that day, the ED sleuths arrested them at the court premises. They were sent to the Presidency Correctional Home in south Kolkata, where Manik Bhattacharya is also in judicial custody.

ED's counsel had constantly claimed in the court that Manik Bhattacharya's wife and son were not aware of the Trinamool leaders' involvement in the scam but also knowingly participated in the swindling process. On this matter, counsel also referred to a joint account held by Satarupa Bhattacharya with a deceased person and said the investigation official doubts that this account might have been used for diversion of scam proceeds. The central agency also informed the court that the said joint account was kept alive using the KYC documents of the deceased person, even after years of his death.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the ED officials have once again summoned for questioning beauty salon owner Soma Chakraborty, to whose account a massive amount of Rs 50 lakh were transferred in phases from the accounts of arrested youth Trinamool Congress leader Kuntal Ghosh. She has been summoned to the agency's office at Salt Lake on March 10.