TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee’s in-laws summoned by CBI in coal scam case

File image: Trinamool Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee (Image: Twitter/@abhishekaitc)

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on March 12 summoned Abhishek Banerjee’s sister-in-law Maneka Gambhir, her husband Ankur Arora, and his father Pawan Arora in connection with the coal smuggling case.

A report by news agency IANS quoted a source as saying: “The CBI has summoned Menka Gambhir's father-in-law Pawan Arora and husband Ankush Arora for questioning on Monday, 15 March.”

The three relatives of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew have been summoned for questioning on March 15.

Last month, Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira Banerjee was also summoned by the CBI to question on the same scam.

In November 2020, the investigating team had registered a case against Anup Majhi -- the alleged kingpin of the coal scam, Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai – General Managers at Eastern Coalfield Ltd, ECL chief of security Tanmay Das, area security inspector Kunustoria Dhananjay Rai, and Debashish Mukherjee – the SSI and security in-charge of Kajora area

In February 2021, the CBI had searched 13 locations across four districts of West Bengal, including the premises of coal mafia Jaidev Mondal.

In November 2020, raids were conducted at 45 locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the coal scam.

The central agency’s actions against the political leader’s kin come ahead of elections in West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are fighting tooth and nail to secure a win.

Election to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases starting March 27 and ending on April 29. Vote counting will be done on May 2.

With inputs from Agencies