Arpita Mukherjee, the close assistant of Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, was found to have more cash in her second apartment than co-op banks do. To put the quantity of cash discovered in Mukherjee’s home into context, the Business Today contacted cooperative bank executives.
Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, was found to have more money in cash in her second apartment than is typically kept in cash by cooperative banks. The investigation agency had been conducting raids at her homes in connection with an alleged scam involving the recruitment of teachers in the state of West Bengal. It was suspected that the funds that were found represent the proceeds of the crime. The raid retrieved hordes of cash, foreign currency and gold jewelry from her residence valuing in crores. The Business Today went out to officials at co-operative banks in order to gain some perspective on the quantity of cash that was discovered in Mukherjee’s house.
What was retrieved from the raid at Arpita Mukherjee’s flat?
Results of the initial search
During the initial search, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was able to seize a total of Rs 23.22 crore. Including cash valued at Rs 21.90 crore, there was foreign currency equivalent to Rs 56 lakh, and gold valued at Rs 76 lakh.
Results of the second raid
Arpita Mukherjee’s homes have been searched, and the authorities have found cash totaling more than Rs 50 crore. During the second raid, the ED discovered gold valued 27.9 billion rupees and 4.3 billion rupees per kilogram, totaling 5 kg. The money was counted by the agency officials for a total of ten hours. The banknotes were bundled in bundles of 50 lakh for the Rs 2,000 notes and 20 lakh for the Rs 500 notes respectively. The gold was discovered in the form of three gold bricks, each weighing one kilogram, six kangans weighing 500 grammes, a gold pen, and several pieces of jewelry.
Partha Chatterjee, the supposed aide of Arpita Mukherjee has been sacked
Partha Chatterjee, a leader of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was detained in connection with the recruiting scam. He has been removed from his position as a result of the most recent development. In response to the growing number of people who want the minister to be removed from both the party and the government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for a meeting.
Mukherjee’s response to the questions asked by the probe agency
Mukherjee said to the Enforcement directorate that the massive amounts of cash retrieved from her home belonged to a state politician named Partha Chatterjee. She claimed that the funds were infused in businesses that were connected to her. Mukherjee further mentioned that the cash was supposed to be moved out of her house in a couple of days, but the raids prevented that from happening.
Both Chatterjee and Mukherjee have been taken into custody by the ED and will remain there until August 3rd.
Officials explain why unlike Arpita Mukherjee, corporate banks don’t keep a lot of cash on them
In order to acquire some perspective regarding the amount of cash discovered in Mukherjee’s home, the staff at The Business Today reached out to authorities at cooperative banks. The officials explained that because the majority of transactions now take place electronically, cooperative banks do not keep a large amount of cash on hand. They barely keep between 10 and 15 lakh rupees in cash on hand on a daily basis.
A chief executive officer of an urban cooperative bank in Karnataka (asked to remain anonymous) remarked that there is now a solution for essential banking needs. The real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) and the national electronic funds transfer system (NEFT) are used for all transactions. In general, we maintain between 10 and 15 lakh rupees in cash on hand at all times.
Another executive at a cooperative stated that banks only maintain larger cash balances at their branches on exceptional occasions. These include occasions such as when there is a holiday. Or when they are preparing for the possibility that customers will withdraw their deposits in response to unfavorable news regarding the industry.
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