ED files 5th supplementary chargesheet in Bengal ration scam, names CA & rice mill owners

ED’s 5th supplementary chargesheet names former minister’s CA and rice mill owners linked to Bengal ration scam
Investigation reveals cooperative societies bought grains below MSP and sold in open market instead of PDS supply
ED conducted fresh raids in Howrah and South 24 Parganas, tracing money laundering networks in the scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a new supplementary chargesheet in the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal. This is the fifth supplementary chargesheet submitted by the ED in the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata on Monday. According to sources, the chargesheet includes the name of Shantanu Bhattacharya, the personal chartered accountant of former Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriya Mallick.

Jyotipriya Mallick was arrested by the ED two years ago in connection with this scam. However, last month, he was granted bail by the Special PMLA Court. The ED's fifth supplementary chargesheet also names two other individuals, Subrata Ghosh and Hitesh Chandak, both of whom are rice mill owners. The ED officials have detailed in the chargesheet how the illicit money generated from the scam was circulated through the bank accounts of the accused.

Previously, the ED had claimed that Shantanu Bhattacharya was primarily involved in manipulating the financial transactions of the former minister. The new chargesheet provides detailed information regarding this matter. Notably, at the beginning of this month, ED officials conducted raids at three locations in West Bengal—Shyampur and Jagatballavpur in Howrah district and Santoshpur in South 24 Parganas district. One of these locations was the residence of a local businessman who was also in charge of a cooperative society. This society was responsible for procuring grains from farmers.

The ED’s investigation has brought several such cooperative societies under suspicion, as they were allegedly operating for dual benefits. The first method involved purchasing grains from farmers at prices lower than the minimum support price (MSP). The second method involved selling a portion of these grains in the open market at higher prices instead of supplying them to the state government's Food and Supplies Department under the public distribution system (PDS).

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Bengal ration scam