ED arrests Bengal Minister Mallick

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested West Bengal Minister Jyotipriyo Mallick in a money laundering case linked to an alleged multi-core ration distribution scam in the state, officials of the central agency said.

The minister was apprehended under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the early hours of Friday following over 17-18 hours of questioning, they said. ED officials said Mallick was taken from his home in the Salt Lake area on the outskirts of Kolkata to the central agency’s office here around 3.30 am. He will be produced before a local court where the ED will seek his custody, they said earlier in the day. Mallick, who is a diabetic patient and has several other ailments, was taken to an ESI hospital in Joka in the southern part of the city, where he underwent medical tests, an ED officer said.

The minister, after three hours of medical checkup at the hospital, was taken to the Bankshall Court here, he said, adding that “we need him for questioning, and that’s why we’ll seek his custody.” “He was non-cooperative and gave confusing and self-contradictory replies to our officers during the questioning yesterday. He kept on saying that he was unable to take questions as he was ill. We need him to get answers to several queries related to the scam. The minister has been involved in the ration distribution irregularities,” the ED officer said. “I am a victim of a great conspiracy,” the TMC minister said after being arrested by ED in connection with the alleged ration distribution scam.