Kolkata, Sep 28 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday filed its third supplementary chargesheet in connection with the multi-crore ration distribution case in West Bengal.
Officially, the chargesheet was supposed to be filed at a special court in Kolkata where the matter is being heard. But since the special court was closed on Saturday, the ED officials filed the chargesheet at the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate along with an application so that it could be forwarded to the special court.
Sources aware of the development said the names of the Trinamool Congress leader from Deganga in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, Anisur Rahaman and his brother Mukul Rahaman have been included in the third supplementary chargesheet.
Apart from the Rahaman brothers, the names of two public distribution system (PDS) dealers and the four business entities have been included there. In the fresh chargesheet, the total scam amount in the ration distribution case has been pegged at over Rs 1,000 crore.
The Rahaman brothers were arrested last month by ED officials in connection with the ration distribution case.
Sources said that ED also got definite clues about Rahaman brothers having a close association with the former state food & supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick, and Kolkata-based businessman Bakibur Rahaman.
Mallick is currently in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the scam.
Earlier, the ED had apprised the court about the details of the financial transactions in the case between the arrested minister and the Rahaman brothers.
Last month, ED claimed to have identified a network of at least 60 small ration-dealers who were directly involved in the modus-operandi in the alleged scam, and had direct links with the former minister.
The modus operandi of the alleged scam, according to sources, was that where the first these ration dealers have procured food-grain from farmers bypassing the official procurement route at prices lower than the minimum support price (MSP) and then selling the same products at premium prices in the open market instead of selling them through the PDS route.