Kolkata police arrest one more person in coal smuggling scam case

Bikash Mishra, brother of key accused Vinay Mishra, was arrested by the CBI in 2021, and was later granted bail; the CBI had quizzed TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee in the case

The Kolkata police on Sunday (November 24, 2024) arrested Bikash Mishra, accused in the coal smuggling scam case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The arrest comes at a time when the process of framing of charges in the multi-crore scam has commenced before a special CBI court at Asansol in West Burdwan district.

The accused was arrested on the complaint of a minor and was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Bikash Mishra, brother of key accused Vinay Mishra, was arrested by the CBI in 2021 and was later granted bail. The accused was sent to judicial custody for a day, and while being taken out of the court in a prison van, he claimed that his life was in danger. Bikash Mishra said that “the government’s future will be at stake” if he spoke out.

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee was questioned by the CBI in connection with the coal pilferage scam. In July 2022, the CBI filed the first charge-sheet in the coal pilferage scam against 41 persons, accusing them of “fraudulently misappropriating coal from the coal reserve of leasehold areas under the dominion of ECL (Eastern Coalfields Limited) and also from the coal stock parked in the railway sidings for sale and supply”. Subsequently, two more charge-sheets were filed by the agency, and the number of accused stood at 50.

Mr. Banerjee was not named in the charge-sheet, which pressed charges against former General Managers, former Chief Managers, and former security and other officials of the ECL. One of the prime accused is the still absconding TMC leader Vinay Mishra, brother of Bikash Mishra.

The framing of charges is likely to conclude in the next few days. There are a total of 396 witnesses in the case.

Published - November 24, 2024 10:54 pm IST