Kolkata
Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigators have seized 58 term deposits held in the names of the wife and daughter of Jyotipriya Mallick, the West Bengal Minister arrested in connection with a multi-crore ration distribution case. The total amount confiscated by the central agency stands at Rs 2.89 crore. These term deposits were outlined in the first charge sheet filed by the ED at a special court in Kolkata on Tuesday.
In addition to freezing Rs 16.87 crore in certain bank accounts earlier, the ED’s charge sheet detailed the existence of 101 properties owned by Kolkata-based businessman Bakibur Rahman, the first person arrested in connection to the case.
While the ED has recorded statements from Mallick’s wife and daughter, who currently serves as the state’s forest minister and has previously held the position of the food & supplies minister, neither has been referred to as accused in the charge sheet. Instead, the charge sheet identifies the Minister and the arrested businessman as the masterminds of the ration distribution case. Moreover, the ED highlighted 10 corporate entities in the charge sheet, believed to be shell entities intended for channeling the proceeds of the scam. Investigations indicate that many of these entities were indirectly controlled by the arrested minister, deploying family members, including his wife and daughter, along with close associates, as directors. Some of these corporate entities are already in the process of liquidation, as per records from the Registrar of Companies (ROC).
