In the case of ration distribution corruption in West Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested the state’s current Forest Minister and former Food Minister Jyotipriya Mallik. This is not the first minister who has been arrested in a corruption case while the Trinamool government is in power. Before him, former ministers, MLAs and Trinamool leaders are also in the list of those arrested by the central investigating agencies in the Rose Valley chit fund scam, Saradha chit fund scam, Narada bribery scandal, teacher appointment scam, animal smuggling.
Many ministers, MLAs and Trinamool leaders have been arrested
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In January 2017, MP and Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Rose Valley chit fund scam. He got bail after being in judicial custody for a few months.
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On May 17, 2021, late Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee, who was a cabinet minister in the Trinamool government, was arrested by the CBI in the Narada bribery case. Apart from him, the current Minister of State for Urban Development Firhad Hakim and former minister Madan Mitra were also arrested. Later, late Subrata Mukherjee, Minister Hakim and Kamarhatti MLA Madan Mitra were granted bail.
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On July 23, 2022, former state education minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the ED in the scam of appointments in government and government-aided schools. After his arrest, Chatterjee was removed from the post of minister and was also suspended from Trinamool.
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On October 11, 2022, the Central Investigation Agency arrested Nadia’s Palashipada MLA and Trinamool leader Manik Bhattacharya in the teacher appointment scam.
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On April 17, 2023, Murshidabad’s Badancha MLA and Trinamool leader Jeevan Krishna Saha was arrested by the CBI in the teacher appointment scam. This action was taken after a raid at his residence that lasted for about 65 hours.
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On January 21, 2023, the ED arrested expelled Trinamool leader Kuntal Ko Ghosh in connection with the school appointments scam.
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Shantanu Bandyopadhyay, who was expelled from Trinamool Youth Congress in the school appointments scam case on March 11, 2023, was arrested by the ED after seven hours of questioning.
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On October 27, 2023, ED arrested the current Forest Minister and former Food Minister of the state Jyotipri Mallik in the ration distribution corruption case.
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Between the year 2020 and the year 2022, three FIRs were lodged regarding the ration distribution scam in Nadia. In 2022, ED started investigating this matter.