Kolkata, Jan 15 A special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata, on Wednesday, granted bail to former state Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriya Mallick in connection with the ration distribution case in West Bengal.
Mallick was arrested in 2023 just before the Durga Puja festival by the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which was conducting an investigation into the ration distribution case. At the time of his arrest, he was the state forest minister.
He was granted bail against a personal bond of Rs 50 lakh as well as a bail bond of Rs 50,000 exactly 14 months after his arrest by the ED officials.
Mallick was the third person to be granted bail so far in the ration distribution case.
Earlier, his close associates and businessmen Babikur Rahaman and Shankar Adhya were also released on bail.
ED counsel had earlier opposed his bail. He pointed out at the court that initially when the Central agency started an investigation in the ration distribution case Mallick’s name was not there in the enforcement case information report (ECIR) filed in the matter. However, the ED counsel informed the court that as the investigation officials carried out their probe process they secured several documents that not just proved Mallick’s involvement in the case but also on how he acted as the mastermind in the alleged scam.
The judge of the special court finally did not accept the arguments of the Central agency counsel and observed that since there was no chance of immediate beginning of the trial process in the matter there was no point in keeping the former minister behind bars.
However, the judge of the special court imposed certain conditions on Mallick. The first condition was that he would not be able to leave the state without the prior permission of the court. The second condition was that he would have to submit his passport to the investigating officers and also cooperate with the latter in the matter. The third condition was that he would not try to influence the witnesses in the case. Finally, Mallick will not be able to speak to the media on any matters related to the case.
Since his arrest in October 2023, the medical conditions of Mallick deteriorated several times and he was admitted to the hospital for treatment.
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