Kolkata: The Law Enforcement (ED) Directorate, which is investigating the multi-crore coal smuggling scam in West Bengal, has summoned two key state Indian Police Service (IPS) to the headquarters of the agency in New Delhi this month for questioning.
These two IPS officers are Additional Director General, Special Task Force, Gyanwant Singh and Deputy Commissioner, South, Kolkata Police, Akash Magharia. While Singh was asked to be present at ED’s office in New Delhi on September 26, for Magharia the date was set for September 28.
This is the second time Singh has been invited to attend ED’s office in New Delhi. He was also summoned last month along with seven other state IPS agents. However, Singh then dodged the summons.
ED sources said that during the peak period of coal smuggling in West Bengal, all these IPS agents held important positions and the central agency wanted to question them on how this coal smuggling was done without their knowledge.
Lately, ED detectives have become extremely active in its investigation of the coal smuggling scam. He interviewed Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee three times, including two in New Delhi and one in Kolkata. Central agency detectives also questioned his wife Sujata Narula Banerjee and his sister-in-law Maneka Gambhir about it.
State Justice Minister Malay Ghatak has also been repeatedly summoned by ED in this regard. But each time, he dodged the summons.
