ED arrests two traders in Bengal coal smuggling case

Kolkata, Feb 10 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested two prominent coal traders from West Bengal on Tuesday as part of its investigation into the multi-crore coal smuggling case.

The two arrested coal traders have been identified as Kiran Khan and Chinmay Mondal.

Mondal is known as an extremely close confidant of Anup Maji, alias Lala, one of the accused principal masterminds in the coal smuggling case.

Both Khan and Mondal were being questioned since Monday by the ED officials, and finally, they were arrested early Tuesday morning.

Sources aware of the development said that both were arrested following their repeated attempts to mislead the interrogating officials by making inconsistent statements from the beginning to the end.

It is learnt that both the arrested traders will be presented at a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata, and the ED counsel will seek their custody for further questioning.

On Monday, ED also issued a notice for interrogation to Monoranjan Hazra, the officer-in-charge under Budbud Police Station, which comes under the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC), in connection with the coal smuggling case.

Earlier this month, the ED officials conducted a raid and search operation at Hazra’s residence in connection with the coal smuggling case, and during those operations, the Investigating Official of the central agency also seized crucial documents related to the case.

Sources said that on examination of documents seized from Hazra’s residence, the ED officials came across several crucial clues about the coal-smuggling case, which prompted them to issue a notice for interrogation to the state police officer.

Last month, ED’s Director Rahul Navin came to Kolkata and sought details of the progress in the investigations into the high-profile financial irregularities cases in the state, including the one on coal smuggling.

The ED officials, last month, also conducted raids and search operations at the offices and residences of coal traders operating from the coal-belt in the West Burdwan districts, like Asansol and Jamuria. During the action, the ED officials had seized Rs 1.50 crore from the residence of a coal trader at Jamuria.

–IANS

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