Coal smuggling case: CBI summons alleged kingpin Majhi again

KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned the illegal coal smuggling case's alleged kingpin AnupMajhi aka Lala for questioning for the fourth time on Thursday, officials said.

A senior CBI official related to the probe told IANS: "We have issued summons to Majhi for questioning on April 8 at our office at Salt Lake here."

Majhi has been evasive during his questioning earlier, said the official who did not want to be identified. The CBI questioned Majhi on Tuesday for several hours. He was also called for questioning twice earlier - on March 30 and April 1. Majhi's close aide Ganesh Bavaria was questioned on April 3, and Birbhum's former Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh on April 1. The CBI had also questioned former Asanol Commissioner, Laxmi Narayan Meena in connection with the case.

On April 5, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the money laundering part, attached Majhi's immovable assets to the tune of Rs 165.86 crore.

The attached assets include land, factory premises, plant machinery and other assets of two companies — IspatDamodar Private Ltd and Sonic Thermal Private Ltd. The manufacturing plants of both these companies are situated in West Bengal's Purulia and Bankura.

Majhi, the director of a company engaged in the purchase and sale of dry fuel, is accused of alleged illegal coal trading in the Asansol-Raniganj belt of West Bengal.

The CBI had registered a case involving alleged illegal coal pilferage in November last year, naming Majhi, Eastern Coalfield Ltd General Managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL chief of security Tan Das, area security inspector KunustoriaDhananjayRai, and SSI and security in-charge Kajora area Debashish Mukherjee.

It had also recorded the statement of Rujira Banerjee, wife of Trinamool Congress MP and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his sister-in-law MenkaGambhir in the last week of February. (IANS)

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