Bengal ration distribution case: Arrested minister faces 10 questions framed by ED brass

Kolkata : West Bengal Minister Jyotipriya Mallick, who was last week arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths in connection with the multi-crore ration distribution case, faced a set of ten questions from the investigating officials on Tuesday.

The ED sleuths started the process of questioning the minister, whose 11-day ED custody started late on Monday evening after being released from a private hospital, from 12 noon on Tuesday.

However, given the fact that it was the first day of questioning, the minister did not have to face marathon grilling and he was questioned by the Investigating Officers at reasonable intervals, sources said. Sources added that the ten questions were prepared and sent from the agency’s national headquarter at New Delhi.

They were prepared on the basis of documents accumulated by the ED sleuths during the course of raids and search operations as well as on the basis of the statements given by the others related to the case, especially the arrested Kolkata-based businessman Bakibur Rahman.

Sources said that on the first day of his interrogation the minister was quite uncooperative and tried to deny any knowledge of events. He also pretended that he was unable to recollect the sequence of events.

He was specially questioned about the functioning of the state food and supplies department between 2017 and 2019, when corruption was at its peak. Mallick was the state food and supplies minister from 2011 and 2021.