Coal pilferage case: Bengal Law Minister and TMC MLA Sushanta Mahato skip ED summons

New Delhi: West Bengal Law Minister Moloy Ghatak and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Sushanta Mahato on Friday skipped summons of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued against them to join an ongoing money laundering probe in 2020 coal pilferage case.

This was the fourth time when Ghatak, TMC MLA from Asansol, was summoned by the ED in connection with its investigation into the scam. Ghatak was earlier summoned by the central agency three times, and he had appeared before its sleuths once. Ghatak and Mahato, a TMC MLA from Baghmundi, were summoned by the ED to appear at its headquarters in Delhi today. Mahato was called for the first time.
The ED is probing into the money laundering aspect of the case, while another central agency Central Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the criminal angle of it.

The ongoing probe is linked to an FIR filed by the CBI in 2020 in the multi-crore rupees pilferage scam.
It is alleged that illegal mining of coal was carried out at leasehold mines of Eastern Coalfields' in Kunustoria and Kajora areas near Asansol in West Bengal. Investigations have hinted towards financial transactions of Rs 1,300 crore, the bulk of which went to several influential people, as per the CBI. (ANI)