Cash-for-job scam: Partha’s kin appears before court

Kolkata: Krishnachandra Adhikari, uncle of former education minister Partha Chatterjee's son-in-law Kalyanmay Bhattacharya, appeared before the Bankshall court on Tuesday over the multi-crore school recruitment scam. Earlier, Bhattacharya recorded his statement before a judicial magistrate.

Adhikari, formerly a fish vendor, said that he worked upon his nephew's instruction. "Co-accused Kalyanmay Bhattacharya is educated and knows the consequence of what he has done," said Chatterjee's lawyer Biplab Goswami. Two businessmen have already deposed before the special PMLA court during the trial process.

Chatterjee's late wife Babli, daughter Sohini, and son-in-law Bhattacharya were shareholders of a company, Ananata Texfab. They later exited by selling their shares to Chatterjee's friend Arpita Mukherjee. The statutory filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs show that as of March 2014, Babli held a 15% share of the company, Sohini held 75%, and Bhattacharya held 10%. Interestingly, the company, which was making losses, had procured a 10% share in Viewmore Highrise — a company linked with Mukherjee, who got associated with Ananta Texfab in 2017.