The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday morning raided state minister Jyotipriya Mallick's Salt Lake residence in connection with an alleged case of corruption in rationing distribution. In this case, the probing agency had arrested businessman Bakibur Rehman last week in connection with the same case. Bakibur Rahman is said to be very close to Minister Jyotipriya.
An ED official said that eight other flats including the house of Malik's former personal assistant were also raided. The Enforcement Directorate official said, “The minister was not there during the raid. He came later and his phone had been taken. Eight officers are present inside the flat. “We are also conducting searches at the residence of his former personal assistant in Dumdum and some other places.”
Mallick is currently the minister for forest affairs and previously held the portfolio for food and supplies in the state government.
Several members of Trinamool, including former ministers, are already in ED and CBI custody in various cases of alleged corruption. Following the raids on Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Centre and said, "Our people are being targeted by central agencies without reason. The PM speaks of taking along everybody, but targets opposition-ruled states. Even the smallest of incidents like an ant bite is being probed by the ED and CBI".
