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Who is Rujira Banerjee and why is she being summoned by CBI?
Rujira Banerjee nee Naroola is a Thai national and holds an Overseas Citizen of India card.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has served a notice to the wife of Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker and nephew of party chief Mamata Banerjee, for questioning in connection with a coal smuggling case. Abhishek’s sister-in-law Maneka Gambhir was also issued a notice for questioning. Rujira is slated to appear for questioning on Tuesday.
The Diamond Harbour MP had on Sunday tweeted an image of the CBI summons. “At 2 pm today, the CBI served a notice in the name of my wife. We have full faith in the law of the land. However, if they think they can use these ploys to intimidate us, they are mistaken. We are not the ones who would ever be cowed down,” he had said.
Who is Rujira Banerjee?
Rujira Banerjee nee Naroola is a Thai national and holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. She met Abhishek during college at the now-closed Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) in Delhi. They were married in a lavish ceremony in the Capital. At the time of their wedding, many news outlets reported her name was Jasmeet Ahuja. Very little is known about Banerjee since she keeps a low profile.
What is the case about?
On November 27, 2020, the CBI’s Kolkata Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) registered a case of corruption and criminal breach of trust with regard to illegal mining and pilferage of coal from Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL). The agency had filed a case last year against Anup Manjhi alias Lala, ECL general managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai along with ECL chief of security Tanmay Das, area security inspector, Kunustoria Dhananjay Rai and SSI and security in-charge Debashish Mukherjee. Rujira and Abhishek’s sister-in-law are not accused in the case and their names have reportedly cropped up during the investigation. The CBI notice states that Rujira “is acquainted with the circumstances of the case noted below”.
Previous run-ins with the law
This isn’t the first time Rujira has been embroiled in a controversy. The customs department in March 2019 had issued her a notice under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962, to appear before the additional/joint commissioner of customs on April 8, 2019, at Custom House in Kolkata. She was held at Netaji Subhash International Airport, Kolkata for carrying a “significant quantity of gold” and resisted attempts by officials to X-ray her bag. She was reportedly flying back to Kolkata after a medical check-up, accompanied by her sister Maneka Gambhir. Calcutta High Court later quashed the custom department’s notice.
