ED arrests West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick in alleged ration distribution scam

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged ration distribution scam in the state, reported PTI. The central agency arrested the Trinamool Congress leader in the early hours of the day after questioning him for over 18 hours. The case pertains to alleged corruption in ration distribution during the Covid-19 lockdown, when Mallick was the West Bengal food minister. He presently holds the forests portfolio.

The central agency is investigating Mallick’s links with businessman Bakibur Rahman, who was arrested in the case on October 14, reported The Indian Express. Rahman is accused of having illegally sold rice and wheat from the public distribution system in the open market. On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at eight locations, including premises linked to Mallick. The agency also searched the home of the minister’s personal assistant Amit Dey in the North 24 Parganas district. After Mallick was taken into custody, he said that he was the victim of a “grave conspiracy”. He was later taken to a hospital in Kolkata for a medical check-up, reported PTI. Following the ED raids, Mamata on Thursday said that Mallick was ill and she would file police cases against the ED and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if something happened to Mallick. She also termed the raids as "a dirty political game" by the BJP.