New Delhi / Kolkata:
The CBI’s anti-corruption arm today searched 25 locations in West Bengal in connection with a coal smuggling scam, allegedly run by Asansol kingpin Anup Majhi. Among the premises that were raided are the offices and homes of Mr. Majhi’s associates in Asansol, Durgapur and Raniganj in Burdwan district, as well as Bishnupur in South 24 Parganas district.
Some locations in Kolkata were also reportedly being searched, but this has yet to be independently verified.
Majhi, also known as Lala, reportedly runs an operation in the open-pit coal mines along the Bengal-Jharkhand border. His coal business, sources said, may have financed some political parties in the state.
Earlier this month, Majhi received three income tax notices, although she only recognized two. Around the same time, the Union Interior Minister, Amit Shah, was visiting Calcutta. In a press meeting at the end of her visit, Shah asked why Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was concerned about the raids against Majhi.
Ms Banerjee herself questioned the coincidence of the searches and raids in West Bengal by five central agencies with the visit of the Home Secretary. Around the same time as TI’s investigation into Majhi’s alleged fraud, the CBI cracked down on a cattle smuggling case in the state in which the alleged kingpin was arrested but released on bail after testing positive on the COVID test. An officer of the Border Security Force was also arrested in this regard.
Beneath the scanner is a possible link between cattle smuggling and coal trafficking.
These raids come months before the 294-member West Bengal Assembly elections are held in April-May next year. After having a limited presence in the politically polarized state for decades, the BJP has become the main rival of the ruling Trinamool Congress by winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in the 2019 general elections.
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