ED raids multiple locations in Kolkata for lottery scam

Kolkata: The officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), since Thursday morning, are conducting raids and search operations in and around Kolkata in connection with a multi-crore alleged financial fraud and money laundering through lottery tickets.

As per the last information available, three teams of the Central agency officials are carrying out simultaneous raid and search operations in at least three locations in Kolkata, one at Michael Nagar in Madhyamgram area in North 24 Parganas district in the northern outskirts of Kolkata, and the other two being at a state capital.

Sources aware of the development said that the place at Michael Nagar where the raid and search are on is a lottery ticket printing factory. The other two places where simultaneous raids and search operations are going on are Lake Market and Lake Gardens, both in South Kolkata.

Sources said that in these two places in the city, the Central agency operations are being conducted at the offices-cum-residences of two lottery agents.

Sources added that there are multiple charges against the lottery entity concerned, which include evasion of taxes and most importantly, diverting a portion of the income proceeds abroad illegally through hawla. The investigating agency also doubts Bangladeshi links with the racket.

The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has been for quite some time alleging a major lottery scam in West Bengal in which several poor people in rural India have lost their hard-earned money. Adhikari has also alleged that important leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress are the principal beneficiaries in the lottery scam.

This week, ED officials conducted marathon raids and search operations concerning a multi-crore hawala scam involving West Bengal and Jharkhand which too had Bangladeshi links.

During the last 48 hours, ED also arrested four persons including a woman in Kolkata in this connection. The woman arrested got some women from Bangladesh illegally immigrated to West Bengal after luring them with promises of employment and then got them involved in the inter-state hawala racket, mainly involving West Bengal and Jharkhand.