Kolkata, Jan 21 The trial process in the multi-crore coal smuggling case in West Bengal started from Tuesday afternoon at a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Asansol in West Burdwan district in the state.
On Tuesday the trial process started with the recording of statements of two top officials of public-sector Coal India Limited (CIL).
A total of 12 officials of Eastern Coalfield Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CIL, were framed as accused by the central investigative agencies in the case, out of whom CIL gave permission to initiate a trial process against nine.
Besides the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the investigation arm of the Union ministry of finance, had also been conducting a probe in the coal smuggling case.
The matter will be heard again at the same court on February 21.
A total of 50 individuals and corporate entities have been named in the charge sheet filed by the CBI in the case.
However, the trial process has started against just 49 of them since a prime accused in the case, former youth Trinamool Congress leader Vinay Mishra is currently absconding and is believed to have taken shelter at Vanuatu Islands by taking citizenship there.
Vinay’s brother Vikash Mishra is another prime accused in the case.
In the charge sheet, the CBI had claimed that the accused in the case were involved in theft and smuggling of 36 lakh metric tonnes of coal, resulting in a government revenue loss to the tune of Rs 1,340 crore.
As per the charge sheet, the theft and smuggling took place between 2015 and 2020.
The CBI took over the investigation in the year 2020. Besides, CIL and a number of officials of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is in charge of the safety of the state-run coal mines in the country, were also under the CBI scanner.
Arup Majhi a.k.a. Lala, who is currently released on bail, is another prime accused in the case.
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