ED now targets Bengal minister

Kolkata: West Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick, who fainted during a court hearing, was on Friday remanded to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody for 10 days following his arrest by the central agency in an alleged ration distribution scam case.

The state forest minister collapsed after fainting during a hearing inside the Bankshall court here and was later rushed to a city hospital for immediate medical care, an official said.

Mallick who has been suffering from a number of ailments, was produced in court after being arrested in the early hours of Friday and being medically examined at the ESI Hospital in southern Kolkata.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Calcutta Tanumoy Karmakar 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. (PTI)