Bengal Ration Scam: Food Dept Filed FIRs in Early Lockdown, But Investigation Was Stopped

During the early days of the nationwide lockdown in March 2020, the food and supplies department filed formal complaints (FIRs) against ration dealers for allegedly distributing foodgrains irregularly. However, the department abruptly halted its investigation of the cases, and the then-secretary was placed on mandatory waiting, according to sources.

The disclosure coincides with the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) arrest of Bengal minister Jyoti Priya Mallick over purported irregularities in the public distribution system (PDS) during the Covid-19 outbreak.

As soon as the nationwide lockdown began in the final week of March 2020, the department began receiving complaints regarding anomalies in the distribution of food grains from ration stores. During the first ten days of the lockdown, the government had filed at least eight FIRs against delinquent ration distributors. However, the abnormalities persisted since the department did not investigate the FIRs, according to a department of food and supply source.

During the shutdown, the Center provided over six crore beneficiaries in Bengal with five kg of free foodgrains each month. The foodgrain delivery program, Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, was later extended till mid-2021.

Senior government representatives emphasized that the department was responsible for investigating its First Information Reports (FIRs) and that the police were occupied with crowd control during the early phases of the shutdown to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading quickly throughout the state.

According to a source, "the department's follow-up action got diluted after the then-secretary, Manoj Agarwal, was sent to compulsory waiting by mid-April 2020."

The sources added that common people in many regions, especially in districts like North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Birbhum, Bankura, Nadia, and Murshidabad, initiated agitations since the department had not responded to the complaints. The chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, was forced to step in because the situation had become so explosive.

"The chief minister launched an investigation, which resulted in the capture of 13 dealers. 463 other people were also shown by the department. Twenty-one vendors were on display in Calcutta. Ration vendors in South 24-Parganas received 58 showcause notices. 64 vendors were showcaused in North 24-Parganas, according to a top officer.

According to an official, the measures taken following Mamata's efforts were insufficient to halt the corruption. "The bigger issue could have been avoided if the issue had been addressed early on," the official continued.

Government sources believe that Bakibur Rahman, the owner of a rice mill who was detained by the ED on allegations of a ration fraud, had a sway over the department and had stopped it from acting against the anomalies right away.

"From 2018, it was believed that Bakibur was in charge of the foodgrain sales operation, which involved moving the product from ration stores to open markets and even smuggling it to neighboring countries like Bangladesh. But during the shutdown, the practice peaked. Since the minister was close to him, nothing could be done. The scenario might have been different, according to a source, if the department's objections from the early lockdown days had guided the response.

According to the sources, during the early phases of the lockdown, key government officials had the opportunity to notify the chief minister about the situation.

"The original corruption had already severely damaged the supply chain when the chief minister intervened and requested the department to act. According to a source, it took months to fix the supply chain and guarantee the beneficiaries' rightful claims.