On Tuesday evening, Partha Chatterjee, the former West Bengal education minister and key accused in the multi-crore SSC recruitment scam, stepped out of judicial custody after over three years.
The 71-year-old leader, who had been under arrest alongside aide Arpita Mukherjee since July 23, 2022, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), was granted release following the furnishing of his bail bond.
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Chatterjee has spent the past 203 days in a private hospital in Mukundapur, where he was under medical supervision while technically remaining in judicial custody.
Naktala is in 'jovial' mood as Partha Chatterjee walks free
Notably, his release comes a day after the trial court concluded the examination of witnesses in the CBI’s connected cases. He had previously secured bail in the ED’s money laundering case, but the Supreme Court had imposed a condition that his release would only be possible once the CBI completed examining witnesses in the recruitment scam investigation.
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As the ex-minister walks free, hundreds of his supporters gathered outside the hospital, chanting and showering petals on his car as it made its way to his Naktala home in south Kolkata.
Once reached home, local Naktala natives were heard cheering, ‘Partha Da is back’, and ‘Partha da zindabad!’
