CBI searches Kolkata businessman’s house in coal racket case

Kolkata, February 26

Three days after questioning West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira Banerjee, the CBI on Friday carried out searches at locations linked to Kolkata-based businessman Randhir Kumar Barnwal here in connection with its probe into the coal smuggling case, sources said.

An agency source related to probe told IANS, “The CBI team are carrying out searches at Barnwal’s residential premises here.”

He said the agency’s action came in the wake of the evidences suggesting his involvement after some transactions came to the fore.

The CBI questioned Rujira Banerjee and her sister Menka Gambhir on Tuesday and Monday.

In November last year, the CBI had registered a case against the alleged kingpin of the pilferage racket, Anup Majhi alias Lala, Eastern Coalfield Limited 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 Kajora area Debashish Mukherjee.

After registering the case, multiple CBI teams on November 28 had conducted raids at 45 locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhandand Uttar Pradesh in connection with the coal smuggling racket.

On February 19, the CBI had also carried out searches at 13 locations in four districts of West Bengal, including the premises of coal mafia Jaidev Mondal. IANS