Kolkata, February 13 A court in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal has cleared a cancer alternative therapy expert of charges of making false claims about his profession.
Following this acquittal, a court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has also acquitted Aradeep Chatterjee of the money laundering charges that were filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) based on a criminal case initiated by the state police in June 2017.
His father, Ashim Kumar Chatterjee, who was also arrested, was also cleared of the charges of assisting him.
Aradeep was apprehended in June 2017 on the accusation that he was illegally earning money by treating cancer patients, and he was charged with various offenses, including fraud by impersonation, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and aiding and abetting.
The police also arrested his father in August of that year for allegedly providing unlawful assistance to his son.
Based on the police case sheets, the ED filed a case in 2017, following which his properties and bank accounts were frozen, and a prosecution complaint was filed in the special ED court at Bichar Bhavan under various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Aradeep's lawyers said.
Aradeep was released on bail in January 2018, and his father was also granted bail by a competent court thereafter.
Aradeep and his father were cleared of all charges by the Fast Track-I Court at Barasat, West Bengal, after a long and rigorous judicial trial.
The additional sessions judge observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt and therefore, he had no option but to acquit the accused.
Aradeep and his father were also cleared of the money laundering case by the Special ED Court at Bichar Bhawan, Kolkata.
"Consequently, the savings of Aradeep Chatterjee, which had been attached by the ED and the police as proceeds of crime, were released and returned to him along with the accrued interest," one of Aradeep's lawyers added.
The special court, discharging Aradeep and his father of the money laundering charges, observed that the proposed charge against the accused persons appears to be groundless as a result of the order of acquittal passed in the scheduled offence by a competent court.
Expressing his faith in the judiciary, Aradeep said that his exoneration establishes that he obeyed all the laws of the land.
"My vindication proves that my country has a very strong and progressive Constitution which safeguards our rights and never denies justice," he said.
