West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said it was also found that men had availed of the women’s financial assistance scheme during the erstwhile TMC government. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday (June 1, 2026) said he has asked the State Director General of Police (DGP) to form a special investigation team (SIT) to probe into alleged fake accounts of Lakshmir Bhandar, a women’s cash transfer scheme of the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government.
Addressing a press conference at the State secretariat Nabanna in Kolkata, Mr. Adhikari said that a money laundering probe will also be conducted into the matter as it involves illegal cash transfers.
The Chief Minister also said it was found that men had availed of the women’s financial assistance scheme during the erstwhile TMC government.
“Around 30 lakh Lakshmir Bhandar accounts are fake. I have asked the director general of police to form an SIT to investigate the matter,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that those who are questioning the 12-page verification form for the new BJP government’s Annapurna Bhandar yojana, where the financial assistance to a woman beneficiary will be increased to ₹3,000 per month, should take into account the instances of illegalities noticed in the erstwhile Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.
Some men have already been arrested for obtaining benefits of the welfare scheme by way of false claims, Mr. Adhikari said.
“We will break these illegalities at the grassroots level,” he said. The Chief Minister said that Annapurna Bhandar benefits will be released to a large number of women beneficiaries on Wednesday (June 3, 2026).
Published – June 01, 2026 04:38 pm IST
