The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to an inspector-rank officer of West Bengal Police, Monoranjan Mondal, and five coal traders for questioning in the multi-crore coal smuggling case in West Bengal. Mondal, the former Officer-in-Charge of Budbud Police Station, had been previously summoned by the ED during the Trinamool Congress regime but did not respond. With a new regime in place, the ED has reissued Mondal a fresh interrogation notice to appear at their Salt Lake office in Kolkata.
Alongside Mondal, the coal traders summoned by the ED include Krishna Kayal, Ritesh Lokesh Singh, Yudhisthir Ghosh, and Narendra Kharka. Additionally, sources indicate that 12 other coal traders in West Burdwan district are also under the ED’s scrutiny. The ED has alleged in its chargesheets that the coal smuggling operations involved a close nexus among coal traders, central forces officers, officials of Coal India Limited subsidiary Eastern Coalfields Limited, and a section of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) responsible for security at public sector coal mines.
The ED had previously informed a special court in Kolkata under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) about significant amounts allegedly credited to Mondal’s bank accounts within a short period. Mondal has also been accused of owning assets disproportionate to his known income sources. In March this year, ED officials conducted raid and search operations at Mondal’s residence in Durgapur, West Burdwan district.
