West Bengal, Jharkhand Kolkata, Nov 22: The total seizure in the operations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials at multiple locations in West Bengal and Jharkhand in the coal smuggling case has been estimated at around Rs 10 crore.
According to sources, cash seizures exceeded Rs 3 crore, and gold, in the form of ornaments and bars, was over Rs 6 crore. The ED officials conducted simultaneous raids and search operations in Jharkhand and at 24 places in West Bengal.
The sources said the search operations were conducted, acting on complaints of corruption and multiple irregularities related to financial transactions in coal exports. In West Bengal, raid and search operations were conducted at the office and residence of a high-profile contractor of Coal India Limited’s subsidiary Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) in the coal belt of Asansol.
The probe agency also raided the residences of three other businessmen, all linked to the coal trade, two at Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata and one at Salap Crossing in Kolkata-adjacent Howrah district.
According to the sources, during the raids in both states, huge amounts of unaccounted cash and gold were recovered from three places, all in West Bengal. However, the ED officials have yet to disclose the exact locations of the three places from where the cash and gold have been recovered.
The ED officials also conducted raids and search operations in Purulia district. The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been conducting parallel probes in the multi-crore coal smuggling case. Recently, the CBI informed the court that the investigation into the matter will be completed soon.
The latest raids by the ED officials at multiple locations in West Bengal and Jharkhand come just a few days after the CBI’s submission in the court in this context.
IANS
