Kolkata, Jan 11 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday carried out extensive raids at 12 different locations across West Bengal in connection with illegal coal mining and theft from public sector coal firm Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL).
According to sources, a large team of ED officials conducted the search operations at offices and residential addresses of businessman Ganesh Bagadia and Sanjay Singh.
The raids were conducted since Monday morning in Kolkata's Lake Town area, Garia, Konnagar's Kanaipur in Hooghly district and North 24 Parganas in connection with the illegal trading of coal.
The duo Bagadia and Singh are believed to be linked with illegal coal racket kingpin Anup Majhi, alias Lala, who is allegedly running the syndicate in connivance with Binay Mishra.
Earlier on November 28 last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) anti-corruption branch had conducted marathon raids in as many as 45 different locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in connection with a coal-smuggling racket.
According to sources, the federal investigation agency sleuths had raided the offices and homes of Majhi in Asansol, Durgapur, and Raniganj in Burdwan district, as well as at Bishnupur in Kolkata's adjoining South 24-Parganas district.
They had also carried out search operations in some of the houses of Majhi's associates. Majhi is the alleged kingpin of the illegal coal operation that was running in the open cast colliery belts along the Bengal-Jharkhand border.
( With inputs from IANS )
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