Coal scam: CBI reaches Mamta's nephew Abhishek Banerjee's house, interrogates wife Rujira in black money case of 1300 crores

A CBI team today reached the house of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew and TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee in South Kolkata in connection with a coal scam case related to West Bengal. The team is questioning Abhishek Banerjee's wife Rujira Banerjee in connection with the scam.

Abhishek and Rujira have already been questioned in this case. According to sources, a fresh inquiry is being conducted after finding a discrepancy in the statements. The scam is related to alleged coal theft from coal mines in Bengal. The Central Bureau of Investigation has earlier questioned the Banerjee couple in this case. This scam is being investigated by CBI and ED for a long time. Earlier in March, the ED had questioned Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for eight hours in Delhi. Banerjee's statement was recorded by the ED under the Money Laundering Act and some evidence was also produced before her by the investigators.

Women officers also included in the investigation team

There is also a woman officer in the eight-member CBI team that reached Banerjee's house. The team reached Banerjee's residence 'Shantiniketan' at Harish Mukherjee Marg in Kolkata at 11.30 am on Tuesday. It is being said that Abhishek Banerjee is on a trip to Tripura. This is the second time the CBI has questioned Rujira. Earlier, Rujira was questioned in February last year ahead of the assembly elections. Just a day before this, CM and TMC chief Mamta Banerjee had come to his house. A CBI official said that we were not satisfied with the earlier interrogation, so we are interrogating again.

In 2020, the case was registered by the CBI

The case, CBI had registered an FIR in the case in November 2020. On this basis, the ED has filed the case. The CBI FIR alleged the smuggling of coal worth crores of rupees from the mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited in Asansol and its adjoining Kunustoria and Kajora areas. Coal mine operator Anoop Manjhi alias Lala is the main accused in this case.

1300 crore black earnings

According to sources, till now black money of Rs 1,300 crore in this case of coal smuggling and a large part of it has been traced to some prominent leaders of the state. This amount is deposited in foreign bank accounts through hawala. The Banerjee couple is suspected of having strings attached to it. The CBI is conducting fresh inquiries in this connection.

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