Manik Bhattacharya, a former president of the West Bengal Primary Education Board who has been accused of having “two passports” and a “house in London”, denied the charges in court on Tuesday and said he should be “hanged” if the allegations are true.
Bhattacharya, a Trinamul Congress MLA from Nadia, told his lawyer in the Special CBI-I Sessions Court: “Please tell the judge that if I am found to have two passports, please ask him to hang me. If I have a house in London, they should hang me. Has London acquired Nadia?”
Bhattacharya, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in October 2022 in connection with money laundering related to alleged irregularities in appointments for government-aided primary schools in West Bengal, has been accused of having two passports and is rumoured to have a house in London, too.
The CBI, which, too, is investigating the alleged irregularities, has purportedly mentioned in a report submitted in Calcutta High Court that Bhattacharya has two passports. The CBI has also submitted that both passports are “valid”.
Bhattacharya said in the courtroom on Tuesday that he does have two passports, but one has long expired.
Bhattacharya also told his lawyer in the courtroom: “How long am I going to suffer like this? In 1989 I purchased a 660sq ft flat. After that a 1,100sq ft flat in Jadavpur, apart from a house in Nadia.”
The hearing could not proceed after Bhattacharya broke down and complained of ill health.
Lawyer Abhijit Bhadra, who appeared for the Enforcement Directorate, said the agency was prepared for the hearing, but it was postponed till Wednesday because of the medical condition of the accused.
Former state education minister Partha Chatterjee and his alleged associate Arpita Mukherjee were virtually produced in the same court in connection with a money laundering case related to alleged illegal appointments in schools. T
The judicial remand of the two, who were arrested in July last year, was extended till March 24.
Chatterjee’s lawyer submitted a medical report in the court that said the former minister was suffering from multiple illnesses.