ED arrests Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick in money laundering case

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The Enforcement Directorate has arrested West Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick in a money laundering case linked to an alleged multi-core ration distribution scam in the state, official sources said on Friday. The minister was apprehended under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the early hours of Friday following over 17-18 hours of questioning, they said.

He will be produced before a local court where the ED will seek his custody."I am a victim of a great conspiracy," the TMC minister said after being arrested by ED in connection with the alleged ration distribution scam. Earlier on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to file a police complaint if anything happens to Mallick during the questioning as he was unwell and had several medical ailments.

The central agency had launched searches at Mallick's premises on Thursday. It also searched his ancestral house on Amherst Street in central Kolkata. The alleged scam pertains to reported irregularities in the public distribution system and in the distribution of food grains during the Covid lockdowns.

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