CBI summons wife of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee in coal pilferage case

The CBI's summons to Banerjee's wife comes just two days after the central investigating agency carried out searches at 13 locations in four districts of poll-bound West Bengal in connection with the coal pilferage scam. Searches were carried out in Purulia, Bankura, Paschim Bardhaman and Kolkata.

The CBI on Sunday summoned the wife of Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a coal scam. In a tweet, Abhishek Banerjee said, “At 2pm 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.”

Earlier, a CBI team visited Banerjee’s residence in South Kolkata to serve notice to his family members. This comes just two days after the central investigating agency carried out searches at 13 locations in four districts of poll-bound West Bengal in connection with the coal pilferage scam. Searches were carried out in Purulia, Bankura, Paschim Bardhaman and Kolkata.

According to PTI, the searches included 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 Anup Manjhi.

Last year in November, the central agency had registered an FIR against Manjhi alias Lala, 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 Kajor area Debashish Mukherjee. It is alleged that Manjhi is involved in illegal mining and theft of coal from leasehold mines of ECL in Kunustoria and Kajora areas.