ED arrests Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick in money laundering case
Kolkata (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has arrested West Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick in a money laundering case linked to an alleged multi-core ration distribution scam in the state, official sources said on Friday.
The minister was apprehended under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the early hours of Friday following over 17-18 hours of questioning, they said.
ED officials said Mallick was taken from his home in Salt Lake area on the outskirts of Kolkata to the central agency's office here around 3.30 am.
He will be produced before a local court where the ED will seek his custody, they said.
"I am a victim of a great conspiracy," the TMC minister said after being arrested by ED in connection with the alleged ration distribution scam.
Mallick also alleged that the conspiracy was hatched by the BJP and its leader Suvendu Adhikari, a former colleague in the TMC party.
The ED had earlier arrested a confidant of the minister Bakibur Rahman whose remand is ending this week.
Sources said that the central agency may seek to confront the two with each other's version of events in the case.
The agency had launched searches at Mallick's premises on Thursday.
It also searched his ancestral house on Amherst Street in central Kolkata. The alleged scam pertains to reported irregularities in the public distribution system and in the distribution of food grains during the Covid lockdowns.
Earlier on Thursday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to file a police complaint if anything happened to Mallick during the questioning as he was unwell and had several medical ailments.
Banerjee also termed the raids by the ED against opposition leaders as "a dirty political game" by the BJP.
Trinamool Congress leader and state minister Shashi Panja also criticised the raids at Mallick's residences, asserting that "this is an attack on the culture of Bengal at the time of 'Bijoya Dasami' and is nothing but vendetta politics".
In response to the arrest of the state minister, the BJP said it was "expected" considering the pace of the investigation in the case.
BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, "The arrest was anticipated after the revelations made by one of his associates, who was apprehended a few days ago. It has once again been proven that the TMC is deeply mired in corruption."
In the past one year, two other MLAs and TMC Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal have been arrested in connection with school job scams and cattle smuggling cases by central agencies.
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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
