Kolkata, April 27: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has ramped up its efforts against large-scale manipulation of the Public Distribution System (PDS) in West Bengal. Fresh raids were conducted at multiple locations recently.
On Saturday, April 25, the agency carried out searches at 11 sites in Kolkata, Habra, and Bardhaman. These locations were linked to Niranjan Chandra Saha and others allegedly involved in a wheat scam. During these operations, ₹18.4 lakh in cash, along with a significant amount of incriminating documents and digital evidence, was seized.
According to a press note from the agency, this latest action follows earlier raids conducted on April 10 at 17 locations, where ₹30.9 lakh was recovered. This brings the total cash seized in the investigation to ₹49.3 lakh.
The ongoing investigation began with a police complaint filed by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs at the Basirhat police station regarding the illegal diversion of welfare wheat. The agency has uncovered an organized criminal network involving exporters, wholesalers, and transporters who systematically diverted over 5,000 metric tons of wheat meant for the poor.
To conceal the fraud, the accused allegedly flipped government or Food Corporation of India (FCI) stamped bags and filled them with PDS wheat, presenting them as legitimate goods for sale in the open market or for export to Bangladesh.
Investigators found that this gang used fake invoices and truck documents lacking essential details, such as correct vehicle numbers or transaction specifics, to make their illegal operations appear legitimate.
In a separate but related investigation into irregularities involving rice and flour in the PDS, the agency has uncovered an even larger network of illegal financial transactions. This branch of the investigation revealed collusion among rice mill and flour mill owners, authorized distributors, and cooperatives, who siphoned off funds by supplying lesser quantities of flour and mixing old stock with new goods for sale.
The agency also discovered that payments for rice were being sent to fake bank accounts opened in farmers’ names, allowing them to fraudulently claim the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Under these extensive investigations, the agency has already seized assets worth ₹75 crore and arrested nine individuals, including notable figures like Bakibur Rahman and former minister Jyoti Priya Mallick.
While charges have been filed in special court, the agency stated that it is still searching for more leads to dismantle the entire network profiting from state welfare schemes.
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