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Jyoti Priya Mallick, former WB minister, granted bail in ration distribution scam

Jan 15, 2025 06:17 PM IST

Jyotipriya Mallick, who served as the state food minister from 2011 to 2021, was arrested on October 27, 2023

Kolkata: Former West Bengal food minister Jyotipriya Mallick, who was arrested by the enforcement directorate (ED) in 2023 in connection with the alleged ration distribution scam, was granted bail by the Kolkata high court on Wednesday.

Jyotipriya Mallick is likely to be released from jail soon. (File photo)
Jyotipriya Mallick is likely to be released from jail soon. (File photo)

Mallick, who served as the state food minister from 2011 to 2021, was arrested on October 27, 2023, after 20 hours of questioning by the ED.

“A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court granted bail to Mallick on a personal bond of 50 lakh and a bail bond of 50,000 with two sureties of 25,000 each,” said a senior advocate present in the courtroom at Bankshall Court in Kolkata. He is likely to be released from jail soon.

Other accused in the case, including Bakibur Rahman, a rice mill owner, and Shankar Adhya, a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader from North 24 Parganas, were granted bail in August last year.

In January 2024, the ED informed a Kolkata court that the scam, which involved siphoning subsidised food grains meant for the public distribution system (PDS) to the open market for sale, was estimated to be worth around 20,000 crore.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee removed Mallick from the government in February 2024, where he was serving as the state forest and industrial reconstruction minister at the time.

Sujan Chakraborty, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, alleged that leaders “close to the chief minister” were being granted bail. “There is a tacit understanding between the TMC and central agencies,” Chakraborty said.

Samik Bhattacharya, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member and party spokesperson, said, “It is beyond the capacity of Mallick alone to operate this scam singlehandedly for almost a decade. The approval must have come from the top. This is another example of the TMC’s organised corruption. The slow investigation by the federal agency has frustrated people. However, people still have faith in the judiciary. We believe the main culprits involved in the scam will be brought to justice.”

Also Read: ED arrests West Bengal minister Jyoti Priya Mallick

The TMC, however, dismissed the allegations, claiming that central agencies were being used to target non-BJP parties.

“Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee have repeatedly said that central agencies are being used for political vendetta and to harass leaders of non-BJP parties. This is just another example. This is not the right political path,” said Partha Bhowmik, TMC lawmaker from Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas.

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