New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has seized assets worth over Rs 150 crore related to former West Bengal Food Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick and two others in connection with PDS rationing” scam” related money laundering cases.

The other two accused are Malik’s aide and rice and flour mill owner Bakibur Rahaman, and TMC leader Shankar Adhya. All three have been arrested by federal agencies in connection with the case and are currently in judicial custody.

The seized assets include 48 immovable properties belonging to different people and entities, including Malik’s house in Salt Lake City, Bolpur, several other “benami properties” held in the name of his close associates, Rahaman’s properties in Kolkata and Bengaluru Two hotels each, various bank balances. accounts and fixed deposits, the Ministry of Education said in a statement.

Malik allegedly “received” some of these immovable properties worth over crores of rupees as “gifts” in the name of family members or close associates.

Adhya is a TMC leader from Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

On January 5, an ED team went to search his residence and was attacked by mobs and their vehicle was damaged. On the same day, another agency team was attacked while going to search the residence of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali area of ​​the district.

ED said the book value of these assets is Rs 504.7 crore, while their market value is estimated to be much higher than Rs 150 crore.

The agency claimed that “proceeds of crime” worth over Rs 10,000 crore were generated through this alleged scam, which it began investigating after recognizing some West Bengal Police FIRs.

The education ministry complained that some private individuals were found to be in unauthorized possession of rations delivered through the Public Distribution System (PDS) and were also found to be involved in false procurement of paddy.

PDS rations were allegedly stolen in three main ways and the alleged scam was carried out. These include pumping PDS ration into the open market, mixing old wheat flour with fresh flour for PDS distribution and procuring fake paddy at the minimum support price (MSP).

The ED alleged that huge proceeds were “laundered” into Dubai and other countries through the conversion of Indian rupees into foreign currencies through established currency exchange companies owned or controlled by Aditya.

The agency has so far filed two chargesheets in the case against Mallick, Rahaman and a company called NPG Rice Mill.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)