Kolkata: The ED which is probing the ration distribution case has got details of payments received by former West Bengal Food & Supplies Minister Jyotipriya Mallick from arrested Trinamool Congress leader Anisur Rahaman and his brother Alif Nur as share of proceeds, sources said.
While Mallick is in judicial custody for the last 10 months in connection with the PDS case, Anisur Rahaman alias Bidesh and Alif Nur aka Mukul were taken into custody by the ED on Friday after a marathon interrogation of over 14 hours.
Sources said ED officials recovered some digital documents from the residence of Santanu Bhattacharya, the accountant of Mallick and from one of those documents the investigating officials got a picture of the amount received by the former minister on a monthly basis from the two brothers.
As per estimates drawn by the ED, on an average the former minister received Rs 10 lakh a month from the two brothers in the period 2016-2021.
On the basis of the deductions made, the ED sleuths are now trying to calculate the exact figure of the proceeds received by the two brothers from illegal sale of the PDS grain in the open market.
On Friday, the two brothers were remanded to 10 days’ ED custody by a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata.
The ED counsel informed the court that the two brothers received Rs 45 crore from the state government in phases to procure rice from farmers.
They subsequently showed procurements made from fake farmers, who were actually employees of a rice mill owned by them.
Bidesh and Mukul are cousins of Bakibur Rahaman, the businessman who was the first to be arrested in the ration distribution case.
The links of the two arrested brothers with Mallick were established through Bakibur Rahaman only.
–IANS
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