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ED suspects assets recovered from Arpita Mukherjee’s residence just a small portion of actual reserve

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 Officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities, suspect that the assets recovered from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of West Bengal Commerce & Industries Minister Partha Chatterjee, were just a small portion of the actual reserve.

While recovering the assets, the ED sleuths have come across some other incriminating documents that hint of a large amount of cash transfers by Mukherjee using the route of private money transfer agents.

These documents also suggest that a certain amount of cash was also transferred through the hawala route to Bangladesh.

The assets recovered si far is Rs 21.20 crore worth of Indian currency, gold ornaments of estimated market value of around Rs 90 lakhs, foreign currency valued at around Rs 60 lakhs, several high-end smartphones, sale deeds of multiple flats and ownership documents of multiple luxury vehicles.

ED sources have said that they are not as yet sure of the exact amount transferred through these private or hawala routes.

They suspect that the value of the transferred money is much higher what has been recovered in the forms of Indian and foreign currencies and gold ornaments.

The sources further said the probe agency has also secured certain names and contact numbers from Mukherjee’s residence, who are believed to have played an important role in this illegal money transfer.

“We are trying to reach out to these people through their contact numbers,” an ED official said.

The investigation has revealed that Mukherjee’s role was quite important in the money trail involved in the WBSSC recruitment irregularities scam.

She was also presented at a lower court in Kolkata on Sunday and will appear before presented the special court of Public Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Monday afternoon.

Chatterjee, who is currently in Bhubaneswar for a medical check-up, will also virtually appear at the PMLA court.

It is learnt that ED will seek further extension of custody for both.

Crime

At least 18 killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza

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Gaza, Dec 21: At least 18 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the central and northern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources.

Local sources and eyewitnesses reported that Israeli warplanes targeted an apartment in the multi-story “Yaffa” tower in the al-Nuseirat camp, located in central Gaza.

A statement from Al-Awda Hospital in the camp confirmed that eight people were killed and 14 others injured, some seriously, in the attack.

In northern Gaza, Israeli shelling struck a house belonging to the “Khilla” family in Jabalia Al-Balad, killing 10 people and injuring several others, according to the Gaza Strip’s Civil Defence.

The Israeli army has not commented on these incidents.

Also on Friday, the military wing of Hamas, Al-Qassam Brigades, announced that one of its fighters had carried out a suicide attack targeting an Israeli force of six soldiers in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza.

The Israeli army has not issued a comment on this incident.

Earlier on Thursday at least 16 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombings in northern Gaza, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

At least 10 people were killed on Wednesday night and some others injured when the Israeli aircraft bombed the house of the Al-Najjar family in the town of Jabalia, WAFA said.

Six more people were killed due to Israeli bombing on the house of the Al-Zaytouniya family near the Al-Tabi’in School in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, east of Gaza City, it added.

The Israeli army has not commented on these incidents.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza in retaliation for the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault on southern Israel, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages taken.

As of Friday, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 45,206, according to Gaza-based health authorities.

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Crime

Maharashtra: Govt Employee Accused Of Attacking Marathi-Speaking Family In Kalyan Surrenders Before Cops

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The Maharashtra government employee accused of attacking a Marathi-speaking family at Kalyan in Thane district surrendered before police on Friday, a senior officer said.

Akhilesh Shukla (48), an employee of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), his wife Geeta (45) and others have been named in an FIR related to the alleged attack on the family, their neighbour, on December 18 after an argument.

Akhilesh Shukla surrendered before the Khadakpada police, senior inspector Aamarnath Waghmode said.

“We will trace the other accused,” said the police.

Meanwhile, before surrendering, Shukla posted a video on social media in which he claimed his wife was beaten up by family members of the victims.

The police have registered a case against Shukla and his wife Geeta (45) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 74 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), 189 (2) (3) and (5) (unlawful assembly) and others.

According to police, the attack took place around 8.45 pm on December 18, and the accused as well as the victims live on the same floor of a building in Kalyan.

As per the FIR, the victim saw Shukla quarrelling with one of their neighbours over lighting of an incense stick. The victim asked Shukla to maintain peace and not to abuse and insult the entire Marathi-speaking community.

The accused couple got angry on hearing this and beat up the victim and his wife with the help of eight to ten others. They attacked the male victim using some sharp weapon, iron rod, pipes and wooden sticks, and inflicted wounds on his arms, legs and face. The accused also molested his wife and threatened the couple, it added.

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Crime

RG Kar tragedy: Calcutta HC rejects Bengal government’s objections on venue of protests by doctors’ body

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Kolkata, Dec 20: The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected the state government’s objections on the venue for the sit-in protest by the West Bengal Joint Platform of Doctors, an association of senior doctors, against the default bail granted to two accused of tampering with the evidence in the case of the ghastly rape and murder of a woman junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital within the hospital premises in August.

The single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh on Thursday already gave permission to the doctors’ body to hold the sit-in-demonstration at Doreena Crossing in central Kolkata.

At the same time, the bench gave the opportunity to the administration to furnish its views by Friday on the possible restrictions on the programme.

However, on Friday, the counsel for the state government objected to the venue of the demonstration on grounds of traffic congestion on occasions of Christmas and New Year’s Eve and suggested an alternative location in the area for the event.

However, Justice Ghosh refused to accept the argument and said that when he had already given permission on Thursday for the demonstration to be conducted at Doreena Crossing, there was no reason for the administration to raise objections on the venue.

He advised the state administration to raise a seven-foot tall guardrail around the protest venue and ensure the protesters stayed within the enclosure during the protest period. He also said that under no circumstance, the protest programme can be extended beyond December 26.

He also ruled that the protesters should not make any objectionable comment from the protest venue or do anything that might hamper the festive mood of the city in this part of the year.

Justice Ghosh also ruled that under no circumstance the number of protesters assembling at the venue should exceed 250.

Last week, a special court in Kolkata granted default bail to the former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal as the CBI failed to file the supplementary charge sheet against the two within 90 days from the day of their arrests. Both were accused of misleading the investigation and tampering with evidence while the initial investigation was being carried out by Kolkata Police. Following the development, the representatives of the medical fraternity in the state as well as the victim’s parents accused the CBI of gross incompetence

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