After medical clearance, Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee sent to 10-day ED custody

Bengal industry minister Partha Chatterjee has been remanded to 10-day ED custody till August 3 by a special PMLA court. He will be undergo medical checkup every 48 hours.

ED will bring back Chaterjee from AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Tuesday morning.

Earlier in the day, a four-member medical team at AIIMS, which examined the arrested Trinamool Congress leader on Monday, stated that there is no need for him to be admitted to hospital.


"Due to some unavoidable reasons, Chatterjee will stay at AIIMS tonight. He will leave for Kolkata tomorrow morning," ED sources informed.

Asutosh Biswas, executive director of Bhubaneswar AIIMS, said: "Chatterjee has some chronic ailments, including kidney problems, thyroid and other problems. He came with some symptoms to AIIMS that are not very serious. He is advised to continue with the treatment."

Chatterjee was produced before the special ED PMLA court virtually. The ED argued that "the medical diagnostic reports showed that there was nothing medically wrong..it was a mockery".

"Chatterjee is fit and can be taken to ED custody. He is trying to take advantage of his position by staying in a state-run hospital," ED's advocate had argued in the PMLA special court on Monday.

Meanwhile, two days after Chatterjee's arrest, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she never supports corruption, and demanded the delivery of justice in three months through a fast-track court.

Speaking on the alleged West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scandal, she said "no one will be spared, even if he is a minister or MLA, if found guilty in court."

"The woman linked with the case has no links with the government or the Trinamool Congress. If someone is found guilty, he can be sent to life imprisonment," Banerjee said.

"There is an attempt to malign me by the BJP and CPI-M," Banerjee said, adding that the central agency is being manipulated. "I have full faith in the judiciary, but the BJP is influencing the judiciary," Banerjee said.

Meanwhile, ED also took Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Chatterjee, on a 10-day remand till August 3.