The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday searched multiple premises in connection with an alleged 2020 Public Distribution System (PDS) money laundering case in West Bengal, where assembly elections are under way.
“Searches were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) on Saturday at nine premises linked to suppliers and exporters located in Kolkata, Burdwan and North 24 Parganas in the PDS case,” a senior ED official said.
The ED started probing the case on the basis of an FIR lodged on October 23, 2020 by a customs department officer at Basirhat police station in North 24 Parganas, alleging large-scale diversion of food grains from the Public Distribution System (PDS) into the open market.
ED officials said that wheat was illegally procured at low prices with the help of suppliers, licensed distributors, dealers and middlemen, and sold in the open market at higher prices. Large quantities of food grains were illegally diverted from the supply chain. The gunny bags bearing marks of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the state government were replaced to conceal the origin of the food grains.
In January 2024, the ED told a Kolkata court that the case involved around ₹20,000 crore. The alleged irregularities took place when Jyoti Priya Mallick, a senior TMC leader, was West Bengal’s food minister.
Mallick was arrested by the federal agency in October 2023. He was granted bail in January 2025. He has been fielded by the TMC from the Habra assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas in the 2026 assembly polls.
TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee recently said at an election rally, “Lies are being spread about Mallick. He was arrested out of jealousy but no evidence was found against him. Mallick had frozen more than 15 million false ration cards. That’s why he was arrested.”
While the first phase of the assembly polls was held on April 23, in which 152 assembly constituencies went to elections, the remaining 142 seats will go to polls on April 29.
