Coal smuggling case: CBI raids homes of Bengal minister Moloy Ghatak

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday (September 7) morning conducted raids on the residences of West Bengal minister Moloy Ghatak in connection with its probe into a coal smuggling scam, an officer said.

Sources said the raids are underway in seven places across the state including Kolkata and Asansol.

Ghatak, the TMC’s Asansol Uttar MLA was earlier questioned in the case by the Enforcement Directorate at its Delhi office, but has been skipping several other summons even since.

CBI sleuths conducted raids at three houses of Ghatak in Asansol in Paschim Bardhaman district and one in Lake Gardens area of Kolkata. The agency, aided by a huge contingent of central paramilitary personnel, conducted searches in these properties in connection with the scam. Women officers were also part of the team.

“As his name surfaced in the coal smuggling scam, we need to find out what was his role in it. We have evidence of Ghatak’s involvement in the scam,” the CBI officer told PTI.

Ghatak was not present in any of his residences when the raids took place. The CBI sleuths confiscate cell phones of the minister’s family members and asked them to sit in one room of his Asansol houses.

The entire area around Ghataks residences were surrounded by central forces when the raids took place.

The agency also conducted searches at four different places in Kolkata in connection with the scam.

The raids come close on the heels of the arrest of TMC leader Anubrata Mondal in a cattle smuggling case and that of sacked minister Partha Chatterjee in the SSC scam case.

Several TMC leaders including chief Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are under the scanner of the central investigative agencies.

The coal scam case pertains to the illegal mining of thousands of crores rupees worth of coal in coal mines run by Eastern Coalfields Limited in western West Bengal by an alleged racket. The CBI in a case filed in November 2020 has alleged that the proceeds of the smuggling went to the bank accounts of prominent political leaders.

The ED has questioned Abhishek Banerjee in the coal scam case several times. The agency, however, hasn’t named Banerjee in the chargesheet.

(With inputs from agencies)