ED teams searched multiple premises across Bengal, including Habra, as part of a PDS wheat diversion probe involving suppliers, distributors and alleged smuggling networks ahead of Assembly polling.
File Photo: IANS
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday carried out coordinated search operations at multiple locations in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, intensifying its probe into an alleged Public Distribution System (PDS) scam days before the second phase of Assembly elections.
The timing of the raids, just four days before polling for 142 constituencies on April 29, has pushed the ration diversion case back into the political spotlight, particularly in Habra where key individuals linked to the investigation are based.
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According to IANS, ED teams, accompanied by Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel, fanned out from the agency’s Salt Lake office early in the morning and reached Habra to conduct searches at residences linked to rice traders and mill owners. The locations include the residence of Sagar Saha at Srinagar in Habra, and the homes of Rajib Saha and Partha Saha at Subhash Road near Deshbandhu Park.
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The ongoing searches are part of a wider investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED initiated its probe based on an FIR registered by West Bengal Police at Basirhat Police Station following a complaint by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs at Ghojadanga Land Customs Station in October 2020, alleging large-scale diversion of Public Distribution System (PDS) wheat meant for welfare schemes.
The ED is examining premises linked to suppliers and exporters across Kolkata, Burdwan and Habra.
The probe has indicated a structured network involving suppliers, licensed distributors, dealers and middlemen, who allegedly procured PDS wheat through unauthorised channels at low prices. The diverted stock was then aggregated at multiple locations before being routed into the open market or export chains.
To mask its origin, the accused are suspected to have removed or reversed markings on gunny bags belonging to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the state government, repackaging the wheat as legitimate stock.
Sources indicated that Saturday’s searches are also connected to an earlier seizure by Border Security Force personnel, when 175 vehicles loaded with rice and wheat were intercepted near the Ghojadanga border in Basirhat ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections.
The case has previously drawn political attention. The three individuals whose premises were searched are known to be close to Trinamool Congress legislator Jyotipriya Mallick, a former state Food & Supplies Minister. Mallick was arrested earlier by the ED in connection with the same case and spent a considerable period in custody. He is currently out on bail and is contesting again from the Habra constituency, which goes to polls on April 29.
The ED has also questioned actress-turned-politician Nusrat Jahan, a former Trinamool Congress MP from Basirhat, in connection with the investigation.
Officials confirmed that searches are being carried out at nine premises in total, spanning Kolkata, Burdwan and Habra, as part of the ongoing probe into the alleged diversion racket and the generation of proceeds of crime.
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