About 30% of the rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS) intended for Priority Households (PHH), RSKY and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries was diverted to the open market, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which is investigating the West Bengal ration scam has said in a press statement.
According to the investigating agency, the proceeds of crime generated from diverting PDS were shared between the millers and the PDS distributors. The ED on October 27 arrested West Bengal Forest Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick in a case related to fake paddy procurement and siphoning of PDS ration to open market. Mr. Mallick who was Minister in the Food and Supplies Department from 2011-21 will remain in ED custody till November 12.
The ED statement added that the millers opened fake farmers bank accounts in connivance with other persons including some cooperative societies and pocketed the MSP, which was intended for paddy farmers.
“One of the prime suspects has admitted that approximately ₹200 per quintal was earned by various rice millers which was to be procured by the Govt. agencies at MSP directly from the farmers and this practice is being followed by various rice millers across the state over the years. Hence, a huge quantum of proceeds of crime are being generated and distributed in this way,” the press statement said.
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The ED had earlier arrested Bakibur Rahaman, a flour and rice miller on October 14 and multiple searches have resulted in seizure and proceeds of crime (PoC) amounting to ₹1.42 crore in cash and freezing of proceeds of crime worth ₹16.87 crore in bank accounts of shell entities. The central investigation agency had initiated investigation on the basis of various FIRs registered by the West Bengal Police in the year 2021 and 2022.
Reacting to the investigations in the alleged ration scam, Trinamool Congress leader and State’s Minister Sashi Panja said that questions must be posed to the Saradha and Narada trials that have not started yet and why the recruitment case continues for so long inconclusively.
“In 2020, it was the Bengal government that filed an FIR when irregularities were reported in the ration issue in a few districts. But nobody is talking about this. On the other hand, ED takes 1.5 years to file ECIR [Enforcement Case Information Report],” she said.
Meanwhile, the arrested Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick who remains in ED custody, told the media that he is innocent. The ED has also questioned various private secretaries to the arrested Minister.
