Kolkata, Oct 28: The health condition of West Bengal Forest minister Jyotipriyo Mallick arrested by the ED in a money laundering case linked to an alleged multi-crore ration distribution scam was stable, an official said on Saturday.
Mallick was remanded to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody for 10 days by a court here following his arrest by the central agency. The minister had fainted during a hearing in the court here and was rushed to a city hospital for immediate medical care on Friday.
“The minister had a good sleep in the night. He made no complaints regarding experiencing any uneasiness,” a senior doctor, who is part of the team monitoring Mallick’s health condition, at the hospital told PTI.
“Mallick has been admitted with an initial diagnosis of hyperglycaemia, renal impairment, dyselectrolytemia, and pre-syncope with a background of T2DM and hypertension,” the hospital said in a bulletin on Friday night. Mallick underwent a CT scan, MRI, and blood tests, the doctors said.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Calcutta Tanumoy Karmakar on Friday granted the ED’s plea for custody of the minister and remanded him to the central agency’s custody for 10 days till November 5.
The ED said it needed to take Mallick into custody to question him in connection with the alleged ration scam, claiming that they have found his links with one Bakibur Rahaman, who was arrested nearly a fortnight ago in the case.
Since the minister fell ill in the courtroom, the court allowed his treatment at a private hospital of his choice, following which he could be shifted to Command Hospital in the city if required.
The ED had earlier arrested Bakibur, believed to be a confidant of the minister, whose remand is ending this week.
ED quizzes Mallick’s aides
The ED on Saturday interrogated associates of the West Bengal minister, officials said.
His former personal assistant Amit De and his close aide Abhijit Das were interrogated by the investigators on Saturday, officials said.
Das was quizzed about a diary that was seized from his residence in Howrah during searches, they said.
“The diary has details of some transactions. It also contains names of different bogus companies used to re-route funds,” an officer said.
The diary has “Balu” scribbled on its cover, as well as some of the pages inside it, he added.
“We are questioning Das about the identity of ‘Balu’, and why he was maintaining this diary. He is also being grilled about his bank accounts and how he has been involved with the minister,” the ED officer said.
Mallick is more popularly known as ‘Balu’, his nickname, in the state’s political circles. (PTI)
