Jyotripriya Mallick, a West Bengal minister and leader of the Trinamool Congress, was taken into custody late on Thursday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to a suspected case of corruption in the distribution of rations.
Prior to taking up his current position as the minister of forest affairs, he served as the West Bengal government’s minister of food and supply.
According to ANI, the probe agency released an official statement saying, ‘West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick has been arrested by the ED in connection with an alleged case of corruption in rationing distribution.’
His arrest happened the day after searches at his Salt Lake, Kolkata, home were carried out by the ED.
Jyotripriya Mallick declared himself a ‘victim of a grave conspiracy’ as he was led out of his home by the police.
Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the TMC and the chief minister of West Bengal, had threatened to file a police case against the BJP and ED hours before Mallick was arrested if something happened to him during the searches at his home. Mallick, she had stated, was not well.
Furthermore, the chief minister of Bengal had said that the raids went ahead even though there was no proof of wrongdoing.
‘If they conduct raids at the residences of all the leaders, then what is left of the government?’ News agency PTI cited Banerjee as saying.
In 2022, Partha Chatterjee, the former minister of education for West Bengal, and Arpita Mukherjee, his assistant, were taken into custody in relation to the teacher recruitment scandal. Following the discovery of a substantial quantity of cash in Arpita’s home, they were arrested.
Anubrata Mondal, the president of the TMC Birbhum district and a close aide of Mamata Banerjee, was also detained in 2022 in relation to a livestock smuggling case.
In addition, the ED frequently called and questioned Abhishek Banerjee, the general secretary of the TMC and nephew of the chief minister, over allegations of corruption.
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