Ration scam: ED freezes bank accounts of arrested Bengal minister and family members
Kolkata,(PTI): Hours after arresting West Bengal minister Jyotipriya Mallick for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore ration scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday froze his bank accounts as well as those belonging to his wife and daughter, a senior officer said.
Mallick's mobile phones were also seized and sent for forensic examination, he added.
"We have sent instructions to the bank authorities to freeze the accounts of the minister, his wife and daughter. We are also trying to find out if there are other bank accounts used by the minister or anybody in his family," the officer told PTI.
During their searches, the ED officers also seized a few official rubber stamps of a few private companies.
ED's initial probe also said Mallick's wife and daughter were in directorial posts at three companies that were allegedly involved in "routing" funds in the scam, he said.
ED officers while conducting raids and searches at the residence of one of Mallick's close aides in neighbouring Howrah seized a diary "having details of the transactions made in this scam", he added.
"Among other documents seized, we have got a diary containing several pages with names of Mr Mallick and details of some payments made to different individuals. We are probing them," he said.
The initial probe also revealed the names of three companies from where Mallick was granted a huge amount of loan that was not "repaid" by the minister.
The central probe agency has also unearthed documents and savings bank accounts belonging to people who have been working as helps at the minister's residence, he added.
Not only banking accounts, ED officers also found documents related to several "bogus" companies created to reroute funds and black money, he added.
"All these bogus companies and saving bank accounts were opened at a time when Mallick was the state food supplies minister. We believe that several such companies were opened and used in this scam," the officer said.
Mallick was the food supplies minister from 2011 to 2021 after which was made the forest affairs and non-conventional and renewable energy minister.
Other than the minister, the ED has so far arrested a few people for their alleged involvement in the multi-crore scam.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
