Five named in charge sheet in Bengal coal trader murder case

Kolkata, July 16  The special investigation team (SIT) of West Bengal Police has submitted its first charge sheet in the murder of coal trader, Raju Jha, and named five persons as accused.

The five persons named are Indrajit Giri, Abhijit Mondal, Pawan Kumar, Mukesh Kumar and Lalbabu Kumar. The charge sheet was presented at the court of the chief judicial magistrate Chanda Hasmat on Saturday evening.

The accused have been charged under Section 302 (murder) and Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and different sections of the Arms Act, 1959. A total of 80 persons have been named in the charge sheet as witnesses.

A supplementary charge sheet will also be filed in the matter shortly, said Kamanasish Sen, the police superintendent of East Burdwan, the district where the murder happened on the evening of April 1 this year.

"We have submitted the first charge sheet in the case within 106 days. Another supplementary charge sheet will also be submitted shortly, about which we have informed the court of the chief judicial magistrate," Sen said on Sunday.

Jha was shot dead on the evening of April on National Highway-19 near a sweetmeat outlet in Saktigarh in East Burdwan district. His associate Brotin Bandopadhyay, who was travelling with him in an SUV, was injured in the attack.

Jha reportedly had criminal records. In July 2011, months after the Trinamool Congress came to power in West Bengal, the police had arrested Raju Jha at Raniganj but he was out on bail. Since then, he has been arrested multiple times. Before the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election he joined BJP and was quite active in the campaign process for the saffron camp.

He was also questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the agency's investigation into the multi-crore coal smuggling scam in the state.

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