Another ECL GM arrested in coal pilferage scam, CBI says many more involved

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday arrested another retired general manager (GM) of Coal India subsidiary Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in connection with the multi-crore coal pilferage scam, an officer said. He was arrested after six hours of grilling at the CBI's Kolkata office in Nizam Palace, he said.

"During interrogation, he gave several wrong information to confuse us. We have got proof of his active involvement in the scam," the CBI officer said.

The CBI had on Wednesday arrested seven retired and present employees of the ECL in connection with the scam. Among them were three retired general managers.

The CBI officer said there are several such present and former ECL employees who allegedly received hefty amounts of money from coal mafias.

"We have a list of such people and have ascertained their roles in the scam. They were getting crores of rupees from mafias, and in exchange were mining 50 times more coal before smuggling them," he said.

"We are also checking the assets accumulated by these officials. There are many more ECL officials involved in the scam," he added.

The central agency earlier questioned TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's wife Rujira Narula Banerjee twice in connection with the scam. Abhishek Banerjee is the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The CBI had last year also interrogated Rujira's sister Menoka Gambhir, her husband and father-in-law.

Last month, the CBI announced a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on absconding Trinamool Congress leader Vinay Mishra, an accused in the scam.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had attached assets worth Rs 9.28 crore belonging to Mishra, his brother Vikas and prime accused Anup Majhi under the anti-money laundering law.

It is alleged that illegal mining of coal was done at leasehold mines of ECL, which operates in West Bengal and Jharkhand, in Kunustoria and Kajora areas near Asansol. Investigations have hinted towards financial transactions of Rs 1,300 crore, the bulk of which went to several influential people, as per the CBI.

The probe has so far revealed that the money was deposited in the foreign bank accounts of these influential people through hawala.

(With PTI inputs)

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