West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari orders a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of fake accounts linked to the Lakshmir Bhandar welfare scheme. Adhikari says that about 30 lakh Lakshmir Bhandar accounts are fraudulent. He asks the director general of police to constitute the SIT and also mentions a money-laundering angle in the probe, indicating that investigators will look into how benefits may have been misused.
Both reports frame the action as a response to the discovery of allegedly bogus beneficiary records tied to the scheme. One report also notes that men, in addition to women, are said to have received benefits under the previous TMC government. The government’s stated focus is to investigate the alleged irregularities and examine whether future welfare programmes can be safeguarded against similar illegalities. The probe is expected to examine the scale of the alleged fraud, verification of beneficiaries, and any related financial transactions tied to the welfare disbursements.
