Kolkata, Sep 26 (IANS): Kalyanmoy Bhattacharya, the son-in-law of former West Bengal Education Minister and Trinamool Congress Secretary General Partha Chatterjee, is being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) since Monday afternoon in connection with the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment scam.
Bhattacharya arrived at the ED's office at central government office (CGO) complex at Salt Lake at around 2.30 p.m. on Monday and till around 10 p.m., his interrogation was on.
ED sources said that Bhattacharya, who currently stays in the US and along with his wife and Chatterjee's daughter, Sohini Chatterjee Bhattacharya, was summoned twice to come to Kolkata for questioning. However, he ducked both the summons then.
However, he arrived at Kolkata on Saturday and immigration officials at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport alerted the ED.
The ED officials immediately contacted him and asked him to be present at its Salt Lake office by Monday afternoon, and he complied.
It is learnt that Bhattacharya is being questioned by ED sleuths in two connections.
The first is related to an international category school at Pingla in West Midnapore district named BCM International School after Partha Chatterjee's deceased wife Babli Chatterjee, where he is the Chairman. ED sleuths suspect that a portion of the WBSSC recruitment irregularities were invested in the school.
The ED is also questioning him pertaining to three companies namely Improline Constructions Pvt Ltd, HRI Wealth Creation Realtors Pvt Ltd, and Acrisius Consulting Pvt Ltd. As per records of the Registrar of Companies under the Union Ministry of Commerce, while Bhattacharya is the Managing Director in Acrisius Consulting, in the remaining two companies, he is an ordinary Director.
ED sources said that in HRI Wealth Creation Realtors and Improline Constructions, the second Director is Krishna Chandra Adhikari, who is Bhattacharya's maternal uncle and a resident of Pingla in West Midnapore. ED sleuths suspect that all these three are shell companies floated with the intent of diverting scam proceeds to different channels.