Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted fresh raids at several locations in West Bengal, including in Kolkata, as part of its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities related to the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the state, the agency said in a statement. The searches come in the middle of election season in West Bengal.
The raids were initiated at about nine premises of suppliers and exporters in Kolkata, Burdwan, and Habra, officials said. The ED case, known popularly as the “Bengal ration scam case“, stems from a police FIR registered in October 2020 in Basirhat on the basis of a complaint lodged by a deputy commissioner of customs (land customs station).
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The complainant had alleged large-scale diversion of PDS wheat meant for welfare schemes.
BENGAL PDS SCAM: BRIEF OVERVIEW
“Investigation revealed that the accused adopted a systematic modus operandi to divert Public Distribution System (PDS) wheat meant for welfare beneficiaries. The wheat was procured at low prices through unauthorised channels, in collusion with suppliers, licensed distributors, dealers, and middlemen,” the ED said in its release.
The central agency further said that large quantities of the wheat were “illegally diverted from the supply chain and aggregated at multiple locations.”
To conceal the origin of the foodgrains, the accused would remove or reverse the original gunny bags bearing Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state government markings and refill them, thereby hiding identifying features and passing off the PDS wheat as legitimate stock for export or sale on the open market, the agency said.
The ED has previously arrested former West Bengal food minister Jyoti Priya Mallick and some others in the case. The latest raids in the probe come just days ahead of the second round of voting for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled for April 29. The first phase of voting was held on April 23.
– Ends
(With inputs from PTI)
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
