Partha, Arpita’s first day in jail

Former Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and his associate Arpita Mukherjee spent their first night in jail on Friday, skipping dinner in their cells at Presidency Correctional Home and Alipore Women’s Correctional Home, respectively, sources in the two jails said on Saturday.

Chatterjee, sources said, spent Saturday morning lying on a mattress on the floor of his cell, which is smaller than the room where he had spent his days during the remand with the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Chatterjee and Mukherjee were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days on Friday by the Bankshall Court. The duo was arrested by the ED in connection with alleged corruption in school recruitments during Chatterjee’s stint as education minister. The ED has seized ₹49 crore and jewellery from two of Mukherjee’s flats.

“Arpita Mukherjee was in a 10ftX8ft room when she was in ED’s remand while Partha Chatterjee was in a conference hall on the sixth floor of the CGO Complex as the central agency has only one lockup. But now, the solitary cell where Chatterjee is lodged is smaller,” said a police officer who has seen both lock-ups.

The cell at Alipore Women’s Correctional Home, where Mukherjee has been lodged from Friday evening, is slightly bigger than her ED lock-up at Salt Lake’s CGO Complex, where she spent her nights since July 23 following her arrest, jail sources said.

“Cell number 2 (where Mukherjee is) is a slightly bigger room, usually assigned to inmates who have track records of good behaviour during their stay at the correctional home,” said a senior official of the prison department.

“A security personnel has been placed outside Mukherjee’s cell and senior officials, including the superintendent, have been asked to make regular rounds to ensure her complete security,” he said.

Both have been marked as “high risk prisoners” and have been given separate cells that they do not have to share with other inmates.

Chatterjee and Mukherjee — whose new identities in the jails are “7-3526-2022-UT” and “2-464-2022-UT”, respectively — broke their fast on Saturday morning with a cup of black tea each and a few biscuits that they were served inside their cells.

Both, being “high risk prisoners”, are not allowed to step out of their cells even at the stipulated time every day when other inmates can come out.

Sources said Chatterjee had bread and a banana for breakfast but refused the boiled egg he was given. He, however, could not say no to the fish curry and boiled rice he was given for lunch. Fish was one of his “must-have” foods during his stay in ED custody, sources said.

ED sources said Chatterjee, during his custody with the central agency, asked for fish and chicken meals daily.

“He (Partha Chatterjee) was very particular about one thing. He insisted that he wanted either chicken or fish citing that he had been advised by his doctor. Mukherjee had not specified anything and silently ate whatever she was offered,” said a source in the central agency.

Sources in the correctional home said the cell where Mukherjee has been lodged used to serve as a classroom for some women inmates who would attend beautician courses.

Debjani Mukherjee, one of the accused in the multi-crore Saradha deposit mobilsing scam, used to take the classes, sources said.

On Saturday, Arpita Mukherjee had boiled rice, lentils and fish for lunch.

Her lawyers had told the court on Friday that she faces a threat to life and that food and drink should be checked before it is served to her. The lawyers had demanded category-I prisoner status for Mukherjee.

Even ED’s lawyers had admitted that Mukherjee faces a threat to her life and that there was a need for adequate security for her.

Mukherjee’s cell in Alipore is close to the office of the superintendent, sources said, adding that jail wardens had been instructed to ensure that she is “covered” 24X7