Jyotipriya Mallick, the West Bengal Forest Minister, was taken into arrested by the Enforcement Directorate early on Friday morning following a more than 20-hour interrogation about the “ration scam.”
Mallick, the state’s former minister of food, was taken into custody on Friday at 3:23 in the morning.
Mallick today was escorted away by ED officials and CRPF jawans from his home in Salt Lake to the ED office in CGO complex.
The ED had raided eight residences including that of Mallick and his associates in connection with a case related to the alleged corruption in ration distribution when Mallick was the food minister. The ED is investigating Mallick’s links to businessman Bakibur Rahman, who was recently arrested in the case, sources said.
Officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrived at the minister’s house in Salt Lake at around 6:30 am on Thursday. The ED has been conducting search operations since Thursday morning in two flats of the BC block, Salt Lake (BC 244 and BC 245) which reportedly belong to the minister. The ED also conducted a search at the residence of Mallick’s personal assistant Amit Dey in Nagerbazar in the North 24 Paraganas district.
Rahman was arrested last week following an ED raid at his flat in Kaikhali that lasted more than 53 hours. According to ED sources, more than 100 documents with stamps of government offices were found in his flat. Rahman owns several hotels, resorts and bars besides a rice mill business. ED sources said a preliminary investigation has shown that investments of more than Rs 50 crore were made in his companies.
