The Enforcement Directorate , on Saturday, carried out fresh searches at nine locations in Kolkata and Howrah in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the alleged PDS scam, officials said. The second and final phase of the West Bengal Assembly polls will be held on April 29.
ED officials, accompanied by paramilitary personnel, conducted searches at multiple premises linked to individuals and entities alleged to be beneficiaries of the scam. On Wednesday, former TMC MP Nusrat Jahan was questioned in connection with the case.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR (No. 1150/2020 dated October 23, 2020) registered by the West Bengal Police at Basirhat Police Station, following a complaint by the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Ghojadanga LCS. The complaint alleged large-scale diversion of Public Distribution System (PDS) wheat meant for welfare schemes.
The FIR invoked offences under Sections 379, 411, and 120B of the IPC, along with Section 7(i)(a)(ii) of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
“It was alleged that PDS wheat was illegally procured, fraudulently repacked by reversing gunny bags bearing Government/FCI markings, and exported to Bangladesh through Ghojadanga LCS, causing huge losses to the public exchequer and wrongful gains to the accused,” the ED said.
Police probe revealed Niranjan Chandra Saha, Sahabuddin Sk, and Sahidur Rahaman were arrested. The state police later filed a chargesheet against the accused under Sections 379, 411, 413, 414, and 120B of the IPC, along with provisions of the Essential Commodities Act.
“The investigation revealed a deep-rooted, well-organised criminal conspiracy involving exporters, wholesalers, suppliers, transporters, commission agents, and other facilitators operating across multiple districts with inter-state ramifications,” the ED said.
Approximately 5,101.25 metric tonnes of PDS wheat, loaded in about 175 trucks, were intercepted and seized from various locations. A large number of invoices, challans, bills, truck documents, and other records were also recovered.
Verification of these documents showed that many were fraudulently prepared, lacking key details such as correct vehicle numbers, licence information, GST numbers, and authentic transaction trails—indicating deliberate fabrication to create a false appearance of legitimate trade.
The ED probe further revealed a systematic modus operandi to divert PDS wheat meant for welfare beneficiaries.
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