West Bengal PDS case: ED files first charge sheet

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday filed its first charge sheet in the alleged public distribution system (PDS) case in West Bengal. The names of West Bengal forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick and local businessman and rice mill owner Bakibur Rahaman have surfaced in the charge sheet, people in the know said.

The charge sheet was submitted at Kolkata’s Bankshall court, ED officials said.

Mallick and Rahaman were arrested by the ED for their alleged involvement with the ration distribution irregularities case. Both are in judicial custody. While Rahaman is currently serving judicial custody at the Presidency Central Correctional Home, Mallick has been admitted to the state-run SSKM Medical College & Hospital due to health issues. However, Mallick is under 24*7 CCTV surveillance of the ED sleuths.


The central agency has reportedly referred to multiple shell entities that were allegedly opened to divert the proceedings of the scam. The ED also submitted documents along with the charge sheet filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The alleged scam, in which subsidised food grains meant for the PDS system were allegedly siphoned to the open market for sale, took place during Mallick’s tenure as the state food minister, sources said. Trinamool Congress came to power for the first time in 2011.

Mallick was arrested by the ED on October 27 after a marathon quizzing by the federal agency.

The ED informed the court that Rahaman, who was arrested on October 14, is a key player in the alleged scam, sources said.

Mallick’s lawyers have sought bail for him, claiming that he is suffering from multiple ailments.

BJP chief spokesperson Shamik Bhattacharya said that the probe in the ration scam must be expedited. “The span of the probe should be expanded. The whole system and hundreds of people are involved in this,” he alleged.

The Trinamool leadership, however, has maintained that the ED is working on behalf of the BJP and is being used for political gains.