‘Victim of conspiracy,’ says Mamata minister after arrest
KOLKATA : The Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested Jyotipriya Mallick, who served as the food supplies minister from 2011-2021 before taking charge of forest department, in connection with an alleged ration scam after a 20-hour-long interrogation at his Salt Lake residence in West Bengal.
The 65-year-old is the second minister of Mamata Banerjee cabinet to be arrested after Partha Chatterjee in connection with irregularities in the school recruitment. Mallick was taken into custody for discrepancies in his statement and non-cooperating with the investigators, according to an ED official.
Mallick, a Trinamool Congress strongman in North 24-Parganas district, fell off the chair as soon as the magistrate of Bankshall court remanded him to ED’s custody till November 6. His family then pleaded that Mallick be taken to a private hospital in EM Bypass. The court, however, turned down the plea.
The court allowed Mallick to have food from his home and also directed the ED to take the minister to Army’s Command Hospital, if necessary, before taking him to the central agency’s CGO complex office in Salt Lake. “I am a victim of grave conspiracy hatched by the BJP and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari,” said Mallick, while being taken out of his residence by ED officials.
Adhikari requested the ED director to investigate chief minister’s alleged involvement in the ration scam as she had appointed a “tainted” retired IAS officer as the managing director of West Bengal Essential Commodities Supply Corporation to “help Mallick”. Earlier, Mallick was taken to ESI Hospital in Thakurpukur, on the southern outskirts of Kolkata, for medical check-up, which continued for three hours. He was then taken to Bankshall court.
Hours after the ED raided Mallick’s residence and seven other places on Thursday, Mamata held an unscheduled press conference and lashed out against the Centre’s “misuse of central agencies”. Mamata had said that she would lodge an FIR against the BJP and ED if anything happens to Mallick, who has high blood sugar.