The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried on with its raids in West Bengal’s West Burdwan district related to a coal and sand smuggling case. At businessman Rajesh Bansal’s residence in Jamuria, dramatic scenes unfolded as officials from the State Bank of India (SBI) were seen carrying sacks in and out of the house.
A sum of Rs 65 lakh has been recovered so far from the premises, with expectations that the amount could exceed Rs 1 crore. Bansal reportedly could not provide satisfactory explanations regarding the source of the cash. The raids commenced early in the morning when three ED vehicles arrived in Jamuria from Kolkata.
Searches were conducted at various locations including the residence of businessman Ramesh in the Punjabi More area near Jamuria market, as well as at the homes of his sons, Sumit Bansal and Amit Bansal. Additionally, ED teams searched a hardware store and warehouse at Punjabi More, along with a shop named Bansal Hardware in Jamuria Hattala. The residence of Budbud Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge, Manoranjan Mandal, in Durgapur City Centre was also raided, and Mandal is currently undergoing interrogation.
Simultaneous searches were carried out at locations in Nabagram in Pandaveshwar and in Durgapur. It has been revealed that several factories engage in coal transactions through both legal and illegal means, often avoiding direct financial dealings. Bansal’s trading firm is suspected of facilitating coal deals by acting as a middleman and providing rented accounts. The ED is investigating the extent of these transactions.
These recent raids come after the ED’s searches last month at the residence and office of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) chief Pratik Jain. The incident had stirred controversy, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the ED of seizing her party’s election strategy documents during the investigation.
