‘Conspiracy by BJP,’ says Bengal minister after ED arrest in ration scam case

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.

Mallick, who is a diabetic and has several other ailments, was taken to an ESI hospital in Joka in the southern part of the city, where he is undergoing medical tests, an ED officer said.

“Medical tests of the state minister are being conducted. These are routine tests. We will take him to the court where we will seek his custody,” the ED officer told PTI.

"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.

Mallick also alleged that the "conspiracy was hatched by the BJP and its leader Suvendu Adhikari," a former colleague in the TMC.

‘BJP’s conspiracy’: Mallick

"It is a conspiracy. The BJP is actively engaging in plotting nefarious schemes against us," said Mallick, who is currently state forest minister and previously held the portfolio of food and supplies.

The ED had earlier arrested a confidant of the minister Bakibur Rahman whose remand is ending this week. Sources said that the central agency may seek to confront the two with each other’s version of events in the case. Mallick's arrest is the second instance of a TMC cabinet minister being apprehended by central agencies in connection with corruption cases. Last year, former state minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the ED in a case related to a school job scam.

The agency had launched searches at Mallick's residences on Thursday. It also raided his ancestral house on Amherst Street in central Kolkata. The alleged scam pertains to reported irregularities in the public distribution system and also in the distribution of food grains during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Earlier on Thursday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to file a police complaint if anything happened to Mallick during the questioning as he was unwell and had several medical ailments. Banerjee also termed the raids by the ED against opposition leaders as "a dirty political game" by the BJP. The TMC, which had previously termed the raids at Mallick's residence as "vendetta politics," is yet to issue an official response following his arrest.

Asked about Mallick's arrest, state Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh said, "It won't be right to draw any conclusion now when the investigation is still on. Let the investigation be over." Party leader and state minister Shashi Panja also criticised the raids at Mallick's residences, asserting that "this is an attack on the culture of Bengal at the time of 'Bijoya Dasami' and is nothing but vendetta politics".

Cabinet meeting will be convened inside jail: Suvendu Adhikari

In response to the arrest of the state minister, the BJP said it was "expected" considering the pace of the investigation in the case. BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, "The arrest was anticipated after the revelations made by one of his associates, who was apprehended a few days ago. It has once again been proven that the TMC is deeply mired in corruption."

Taking to X, leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, "Henceforth, the meeting of the state cabinet will be convened inside the jail." In the past one year, two other MLAs and TMC Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal have been arrested in connection with school job scams and cattle smuggling cases by central agencies.

(With inputs from agencies)