A court in Kolkata has extended the custody of West Bengal minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, who was arrested last month by the Enforcement Directorate, till November 12, the central agency said on Tuesday.
Mallick was arrested by the central agency on October 27 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with an alleged multicrore scam in the public distribution system.
The case pertains to alleged corruption in ration distribution during the Covid-19 lockdown, when Mallick was the West Bengal food minister. He presently holds the forests portfolio.
The minister was earlier remanded to the Enforcement Directorate’s custody for 10 days till November 5. However, soon after he was arrested, Mallick was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata with high blood sugar and renal issues. He was discharged on October 3.
On Monday, Mallick reiterated that he was innocent, reported The Indian Express. “Whatever they have done is unethical, unfair,” he said while coming out of the Enforcement Directorate office. “They haven’t done right.”
The central agency is investigating Mallick’s links with businessman Bakibur Rahman, who was arrested in the case on October 14. Rahman is accused of having illegally sold rice and wheat from the public distribution system in the open market.
On October 26, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at eight locations, including premises linked to Mallick. The agency also searched the home of the minister’s personal assistant Amit Dey in the North 24 Parganas district.
After Mallick was taken into custody, he said that he was the victim of a “grave conspiracy”.
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