ED raids were conducted today at 9 locations including Kolkata. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday took major action and started raids in many areas of West Bengal in the ration scam related to the Public Distribution System (PDS). The team of ED's Kolkata Zonal Office is conducting a search operation at 9 locations in Kolkata, Bardhaman and Hobda. This action is being taken against Niranjan Chandra Saha and the suppliers and exporters associated with him. The ED investigation was started on the basis of an FIR registered by the West Bengal Police. This FIR was registered at Basirhat Police Station on 23 October 2020.
The complaint was lodged by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Ghojadanga LCS, alleging massive misappropriation of PDS wheat meant for the poor and needy. Investigation revealed that the accused purchased the wheat meant for the poor illegally at cheap prices and then sold it in the market in connivance with suppliers, dealers and middlemen.
Real sacks of wheat, which had the marks of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the state government. They were removed or turned and filled in new sacks. So that his identity can be hidden. After this, this wheat was sold in the open market as legitimate goods or exported abroad. According to ED, the accused made illegal earnings of crores of rupees from this whole game.
At present, ED's search is going on and after the raid, it is expected that many important documents, digital evidence and records related to transactions will be found. Officials say that based on the investigation, even bigger revelations may be made.
Voting for the second phase of assembly elections is to be held on April 29 after the first phase on April 23 in the state. This case of money laundering is related to an FIR registered by Basirhat Police in October 2020. This FIR was based on a complaint lodged by a Deputy Commissioner of the Land Customs Station at Ghojhadanga. The complaint alleged that 'Public Distribution System' (PDS) wheat earmarked for welfare schemes was wrongly diverted on a large scale. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), these wheat were purchased at unfairly low prices in collusion with suppliers, licensed distributors, dealers and middlemen.
