Bengal Law Minister Moloy Ghatak skips ED summons in coal smuggling case

West Bengal Law Minister Moloy Ghatak skipped appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a case of alleged coal pilferage from Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in Asansol

West Bengal Law Minister Moloy Ghatak skipped appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here on Wednesday for questioning in a case of alleged coal pilferage from Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in Asansol.

Ghatak was summoned by the ED on September 10 to appear before investigators at its headquarters here on Wednesday (September 14) in the coal smuggling and money laundering case being investigated by the agency.

Earlier this month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) interrogated Ghatak and conducted searches at his premises in West Bengal in connection with its probe into the alleged coal pilferage case.

The ED filed a money laundering case against Ghatak based on the CBI's First Informational Report (FIR).

Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhishek, and his wife Rujira, were questioned by the ED.

The case, filed under criminal sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was filed by the ED after studying a November, 2020 FIR of the CBI that alleged a multi-crore coal pilferage scam related to the Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in the state's Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol. Local state operative Anup Majhi alias Lala is alleged to be the prime suspect in the case.

The ED had earlier claimed that Ghatak was a beneficiary of funds obtained from this illegal trade. According to ED sources, the investigators have spoken to more than one person in this connection, collected information and recorded their statements. The name of Ghatak had come up on several occasions during these interrogations, the officials said.