Anisur, the Deganga block president of the TMC, and his brother Alif were arrested following raids on their properties and offices. They will be produced in court on Friday.

The arrests follow ED action against former food and civil supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick and businessman Bakibur Rahman. Both Mallick and Rahman have been arrested by the ED.

The ED has also summoned Barik Biswas, considered to be a close aide of Mallick, to appear before it on Friday. Biswas’s flat was among the several properties where the ED conducted searches in the alleged ration scam on Tuesday, and as per the agency, Rs 20 lakh was recovered from his flat.

According to ED sources, documents of 22 properties have been found among the documents recovered from Biswas’s office. The ED believes that the investments in the assets have been made anonymously. More than 15 mobile phones were also seized.

Apart from Rs 20 lakh allegedly found in Biswas’s office, Rs 11 lakh has been seized from Alif’s house and Rs 14 lakh from his office, the ED said. A total of Rs 45 lakh was recovered in last Tuesday’s operation, the agency added.

The ED has alleged that a deep-rooted corruption network was involved in the diversion of essential food items meant for the poor in West Bengal. According to the central agency, nearly 30 per cent of the ration was diverted to the open market between 2011 and 2021. The agency has claimed to have recovered crores of rupees in cash and identified properties linked to the accused.

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