The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Anisur Rahman, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) block president at Deganga in North 24 Parganas district, and his brother, Alif Noor, also known as Mukul, in connection with the West Bengal ration scam case. The arrests came after approximately 15 hours of questioning by the central probe agency.
On Friday, the ED took Anisur Rahman and Noor into custody following a search operation conducted at their residence earlier in the week. The raids were part of a broader investigation targeting individuals connected to the scandal, including Sheikh Shahjahan, Bakibur Rahman, Anisur Rahman, and Barik Biswas, who are all close aides of the jailed former minister Jyotipriya Mallick.
The agency’s probe revealed that Anisur Rahman and Noor allegedly failed to cooperate with the investigation and provided inconsistent statements. Investigators expressed dissatisfaction with their explanations concerning illegal transactions and the financial operations of their rice mills. The central probe agency has identified numerous illegal transactions in the case, which could not be satisfactorily accounted for by the arrested individuals.
The Enforcement Directorate’s investigation, which falls under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has disclosed that the West Bengal ration scam involves fraudulent activities worth at least Rs 10,000 crore. Anisur Rahman and Noor are scheduled to be presented before the Bankshal Court in Kolkata for further proceedings.
