TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira Banerjee has been summoned in the CBI probe.

What is the coal smuggling case for which CBI summoned Abhishek Banerjee’s wife? 

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's wife has been summoned by the CBI in an alleged coal smuggling scam. Here is what the case is all about.

by · India Today

On Sunday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) issued a notice to Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira in a coal smuggling case. Abhishek is the nephew of Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress MP from Diamond Harbour.

The CBI believes Rujira could provide information related to the case, and hence, wants to question her. The notice comes after months of raids across Kolkata and Bengal’s coal belt areas of Asansol, Durgapur, Bankura and Purulia. The CBI had intensified investigation into the case since late 2020.

These areas, which share a border with Jharkhand, are dotted with mines. Some of them are abandoned or lying closed for years. Even the state-owned Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) has a number of mines here.

However, the region is also a hub of illegal coal mining and trade, estimated to be worth billions. This is precisely the reason coal is also known as “black gold”. Young and old are engaged in the illegal mining activities here. Workers enter illegal mines to extract coal, which is then loaded on to trucks to reach their destination.

The alleged kingpin of the racket is Anup Majhi alias Lala. The CBI has conducted several raids on his hideouts in the past few months, but Lala remains elusive. The central agency has also raided properties linked to him or his associates as part of the probe.

Another prime accused in the case is Trinamool youth leader Vinay Mishra. The BJP alleges that Mishra is close to Abhishek Banerjee and the two have together travelled abroad several times. The CBI has conducted multiple raids to nab Mishra as well, but he too remains elusive.

The CBI believes that cattle and coal smuggling in Bengal are interlinked. Enamul Haque, the kingpin of a cattle smuggling racket on the Indo-Bangladesh border, has already been caught.

However, this is the first time that the CBI landed at the corridors of power as part of its probe. Sources in the agency revealed that during recent raids and recording of statements, they came across material hinting at the alleged involvement of Abhishek’s wife Rujira.

Abhishek cried vengeance. “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,” he tweeted.

On Friday, the CBI carried out searches at 13 locations in four districts of poll-bound Bengal in connection with the coal smuggling case. The raids were carried out in Purulia, Bankura, West Burdwan and Kolkata.

On November 28, the agency had raided around 45 places in Bengal in relation to the case. Sources say illegal coal worth billions was smuggled in these border areas with the help of government officials and politicians.

Assembly elections in Bengal are due in April-May and the BJP has launched a vigorous campaign to oust the ruling Trinamool. Abhishek wields considerable influence in the party and has been leading the Trinamool’s counter-attack.