The Enforcement Directorate is trying to find out how a property in Santiniketan bought jointly by former minister Partha Chatterjee and his close associate Arpita Mukherjee in 2012 became her sole property without any trace in the official records of the land department of the change in ownership.
The original deed, available in the portal of registration of the government of Bengal, of the 10 cottah property located in Shyambati mouza in Santiniketan mentioned the names of both Chatterjee and Mukherjee as purchasers and it was registered in the office of the additional district sub-registrar in Bolpur in January 2012.
An ED source said that when they tried to search the details of the property on the government portal carrying all the land record details, Mukherjee’s name cropped up as the sole owner.
The records in the portal didn't throw up any details on how she became the sole owner, the ED source added.
According to the deed, Chatterjee and Mukherjee bought the 10-cottah property, including a one-storey building and a two-storey structure, by paying Rs 20 lakh to the original owners, who live in Calcutta. The deed, sources said, had the signature, picture and details of the former minister as one of the buyers.
“This is very mysterious as there is no document justifying the change in the ownership structure.… Technically, Arpita (Mukherjee) can become the sole owner if the co-owner sold his part to her or gifted it to her. But there has to be documentary evidence of either of these two actions. This (absence of any document of this change) is baffling,” said an ED source.
“In the case of this property, there is no mention of how ownership changed. It is our subject of doubt,” added an ED source.
The ED may ask for the details of change of the ownership from the land department in Birbhum in case they think that the former minister had used his influence to tamper with the land records, sources in the central agency said.
“We have to confirm whether the document was not uploaded properly following a technical issue or there was some influence-peddling,” said a source in ED.
The ED officers are also wondering why the change of ownership was required as Chatterjee and Mukherjee owned many properties jointly.
“It is really a big question why the ownership was changed (to reflect Mukherjee alone). They have had so many properties together,” said an ED officer.
Besides checking details of the properties belonging to Chatterjee and Mukherjee in Calcutta, the central agency sleuths have started scanning the properties owned by the duo or people perceived to be close to Chatterjee in the various districts of Bengal.
“We need to get this puzzle solved as there are more properties in the name of Arpita (Mukherjee) or other relatives or close aides of the minister. If it is found that the record was tampered with, then there is a possibility that the same process was applied to many other properties (with links to Chatterjee),” said a source.
