ED conducts raids at Bengal Forest Department

Kolkata, Dec 19 (IANS) Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted raids at the West Bengal Forest Department office.

Minister Jyotipriya Mallick has already been arrested by the ED in October this year for his alleged involvement in the case.

Mallick — was the State Food & Supplies minister from 2011 to 2021 — the period believed by ED when the alleged ration distribution scam took place. After the 2021 West Bengal elections, Mallick was made the State Forest minister.

It is not yet clear whether the fresh raids are in connection to any irregularities in the State Forest Department or in connection with the ration distribution case.

Sources said that possibly some files relating to the ration distribution system may have been kept at the Forest Department.

They said that there are possibilities that the fresh ED raid might be fallout of the central agency initiating a preliminary probe last month in connection with the alleged tendering irregularities in the Zoo Directorate of West Bengal.

The ED has also started enquiring about the departed project reports (DPRs) of the projects of the directorate for which tenders were floated. There are allegations that the outsourced agencies which prepared the DPRs for the directorate also participated in the tender process with different identities which was a clear violation of norms as specified in the process.

–IANS

src/dan