Bengal ration scam: Director, writer of Bakibur Rahman-sponsored movie govt employees

Controversy over a Bengali movie produced by Bakibur Rahman, a prime accused in the multi- crore ration distribution case in West Bengal, seems to be deepening further as the director of the movie and writer of the novel based on which the film was made are present and former employees of the state food & supplies department.

The movie 'Mangrove', released in 2014, was based on a novel scripted by the former additional director to the state food & supplies department Parthasarathi Gayen. The director of the movie was Saurav Mukherjee, a current employee of the same department.

Already the film is in the midst of controversy and gossip, after the information surfaced that Arpita Mukherjee, a close associate of former West Bengal education Minister Partha Chatterjee and a prime accused in the multi-crore cash-for-school job case, was in the lead role of the movie. Bollywood actress Rakhi Sawant also featured in the movie.

Information has also surfaced that Partha Chatterjee was himself present at the premier of the movie. Both Chatterjee and Mukherjee are currently in judicial custody because of their alleged involvement in the school job case. In July last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recovered cash amounting to over Rs 50 crore along with a large consignment of gold bars and gold biscuits from two residences of Arpita.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths probing the ration distribution case have come to know that a majority of the payments made for meeting the expenses for the production of the movie, including the payments of honorariums to the actors and technicians were made in cash. This has made the central agency's case stronger that the proceeds of the ration distribution case were invested in the movie. IANS/VB