ED searches Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick's home in PDS pilferage case
Searches also conducted at homes of Mallick's chartered accountant, personal assistant and others
Investigating the alleged pilfering of cash from anomalies in Bengal's public distribution system, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the homes of Jyotipriya Mallick, the minister of forests and formerly of food and supplies, on Thursday.
As part of searches in at least a dozen locations in Howrah and Calcutta, the ED also visited the residences of Mallick's chartered accountant and personal assistant, among others.
According to ED authorities, Mallick's purported connections to businessman Bakibur Rahman, who was detained two weeks ago in connection with the investigation, served as the immediate catalyst.
For the last two years, Mallick, who is now the minister in charge of non-conventional and renewable energy sources and forest affairs, has denied having any connection to Bakibur or his former department.
Senior ED officials said that it was imperative to interrogate the minister in light of the apparent wealth accumulation by Bakibur to the extent of roughly Rs 100 crore during Mallick's tenure as the Trinamul district chairman of Bakibur's home state of North 24-Parganas.
When Mallick was the minister in charge of the food and supply department from 2020 to 2021's first quarter, alleged violations involving the sale of wheat intended for public distribution via fair-price or ration stores occurred, according to ED officials.
"In this specific case, an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was filed in April 2022, and the investigation's goal is to follow the money trail from anomalies in ration distribution," a senior ED official said.
About 6.30 am, a group of ED representatives showed up to two of Mallick's neighboring homes in Salt Lake's BC block. CRPF officers kept watch throughout the course of more than twelve hours of searching.
Amit Dey, Mullick's personal assistant, lived in two flats in Nagerbazar, his chartered accountant lived in Tollygunge, and one of the minister's close friends lived in Ichhapore, Howrah. Other teams also paid visits to Mullick's ancestral house at Beniatola in Sovabazar.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed
