Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its probe into the multi-crore coal smuggling case in West Bengal, summoning seven more coal traders for questioning, sources in the central agency said on Tuesday.
With this, the total number of coal traders summoned in the case has risen to 15. The fresh summons came in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding the ED’s simultaneous search operations at the office of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the residence of its director and co-founder, Pratik Jain, on January 8 in connection with the same case.
During the search operations of I-PAC, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Pratik Jain’s house and later his office in Salt Lake. She had accused the ED of seizing party documents under the guise of an investigation. She had also taken out documents, laptops and phones from the two premises.
This led to a conflict that escalated first to the Calcutta High Court and then to the Supreme Court. The apex court stayed the FIRs registered by the West Bengal Police against ED officials in connection with the searches. The court observed that the petitions raise serious questions of alleged interference by state agencies in a central investigation. A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul Pancholi issued notice to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, Kolkata Police Commissioner and others on the ED’s pleas alleging obstruction during the search operations.
In its interim order, the apex court also directed preservation of CCTV footage and other storage devices containing recordings of the searched premises as well as the surrounding areas till the next date of hearing.
Amid these developments, the ED has renewed its focus on the coal smuggling network operating across West Bengal and Jharkhand. Several coal traders have already been interrogated, and based on information gathered, the names of additional individuals have surfaced. Consequently, seven more persons linked to the coal trade have now been summoned.
These seven individuals will likely be questioned primarily to gather more information about the whereabouts of the money from coal smuggling. Furthermore, it is also learnt that the authorities will investigate whether there are any connections to influential figures.
The ED had carried out extensive raids in November last year at more than 40 locations across West Bengal and Jharkhand in connection with the coal smuggling case. During these operations, the agency seized a large number of documents, besides recovering cash amounting to several crores of rupees and jewellery.
(IANS)
