Enforcement Directorate Raids Rice Mill Owner’s Home in West Bengal Ration Scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the residence of a rice mill owner in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. The owner is allegedly a close aide of former TMC minister Jyotipriya Mallick. This raid is part of an investigation into an alleged ration scam.
In April, the ED attached 48 immovable properties worth over Rs 150 crores. These properties belong to Jyoti Priya Mallick, the then Minister-In-Charge of the Food and Supply Department of West Bengal, and other accused individuals. The assets include two hotels and residential houses.
The ED claimed that these properties were acquired through Proceeds of Crime (PoC) from the PDS Ration Scam. The attached assets include properties in Salt Lake and Bolpur, hotels in Kolkata and Bengaluru, and various bank accounts and fixed deposits.
The investigation began based on FIRs registered by West Bengal Police. It was found that private individuals were in unauthorized possession of ration meant for PDS and involved in bogus procurement of paddy. The ED detected three main methods for generating PoC: siphoning PDS ration to the open market, mixing old wheat flour with fresh flour for PDS, and bogus paddy procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP).
In this case, Bakibur Rahaman, Jyoti Priya Mallick, Sankar Addhya, and Biswajit Das were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Doubts Revealed
Enforcement Directorate -: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a government agency in India that investigates financial crimes like money laundering and fraud.
Raids -: Raids are sudden visits by police or other officials to search a place for illegal activities or evidence.
Rice Mill -: A rice mill is a place where rice is processed and cleaned to make it ready for cooking and eating.
West Bengal -: West Bengal is a state in eastern India, known for its rich culture and history.
Ration Scam -: A ration scam involves illegal activities related to the distribution of ration, which is food and supplies given to people at low prices by the government.
North 24 Parganas -: North 24 Parganas is a district in West Bengal, India.
TMC -: TMC stands for Trinamool Congress, a political party in West Bengal, India.
Jyotipriya Mallick -: Jyotipriya Mallick is a former minister from the TMC party in West Bengal.
Attached properties -: Attached properties mean that the government has taken control of someone’s properties because they are suspected to be involved in illegal activities.
PDS -: PDS stands for Public Distribution System, a government program in India that provides food and essential items to people at low prices.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act -: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act is a law in India that helps to stop money laundering, which is hiding money made from illegal activities.
