Moving ahead in its probe into the illegal coal smuggling case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's sister-in-law Menka Gambhir's father-in-law and husband for questioning.
A source related to the probe told IANS: “The CBI has summoned Menka Gambhir's father-in-law Pawan Arora and husband Ankush Arora for questioning on Monday, 15 March.”
The CBI had earlier questioned Gambhir and Abhishek’s wife Rujira Banerjee in connection with the same case.
Abhishek is the nephew of Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.
Case History
The CBI had registered a case against the alleged kingpin of the coal pilferage racket Anup Majhi, alias Lala, Eastern Coalfield Ltd General Managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL chief of security Tanmay Das, area security inspector Kunustoria Dhananjay Rai, and SSI and security in-charge of Kajora area Debashish Mukherjee in November last year.
On 26 February, the CBI searched the premises of a businessman in Kolkata and on 19 February, the agency carried out searches at 13 locations in four districts of West Bengal, including the premises of coal mafia Jaidev Mondal.
On 28 November last year, the CBI had conducted raids at 45 locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the coal smuggling racket.
The central agency’s actions have turned up the heat in poll-bound West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP are engaged in a bitter war of words.
Election to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases on 27 March, 1 April, 6 April, 10 April, 17 April, 22 April, 26 April and 29 April. Counting will take place on 2 May.
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