CBI raids 13 locations in West Bengal over illegal mining, coal theft

The raids were carried out in Kolkata, Bankura, Paschim Bardhaman and Purulia.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday conducted raids at 13 locations in four districts of West Bengal in connection with a multi-crore coal scam, involving a businessman Anup Majhi alias Lala, officials said.

The raids were carried out in Kolkata, Bankura, Paschim Bardhaman and Purulia.

The raids were carried out in Kolkata, Bankura, Paschim Bardhaman and Purulia, they added.

The investigative agency is probing Manjhi for his involvement in embezzling thousands of crores of rupees in the scam, arising out of illegal mining from abandoned mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in Kunustoria and Kajora areas.

The searches were conducted in the premises of Amiya Steel Pvt Ltd in Kolkata and Bankura and that of Joydeb Mandal, the alleged deputy of the suspected kingpin of the racket Manjhi, news agency PTI reported.

CBI had registered a first information report (FIR) in November last year against Manjhi, Eastern Coalfield Ltd general managers Amit Kumar Dhar (of then Kunustoria area now Pandaveswar area) and Jayesh Chandra Rai (Kajor area) besides ECL chief of security Tanmay Das, area security inspector Kunustoria Dhananjay Rai and SSI and security in-charge of Kajor area Debashish Mukherjee.

The agency acted on information from "reliable sources" that indicated illegal excavation and theft of coal in the leasehold area of ECL in "connivance" with officials of ECL, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Indian Railways.

(With PTI inputs)