The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned seven more people for questioning as part of the investigation into the West Bengal coal smuggling case. ED officials have already interrogated several coal traders in connection with the case. Based on this, several more names have emerged. Following this, seven more people associated with the coal business have been summoned.

These seven individuals will be questioned primarily to gather more information about where the money from coal smuggling has gone. Furthermore, it is also reported that the ED will investigate whether there are any influential connections involved.

A few days ago, in connection with an old coal smuggling case in Delhi, ED officials raided the house of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain and the I-PAC office in Salt Lake. During the raid, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arrived at Pratik Jain’s house and later at the Salt Lake office. She accused the ED of seizing party documents under the guise of investigation. This conflict escalated first to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court. Amidst this, the Enforcement Directorate has now become active in the coal smuggling cases in Kolkata and Jharkhand.

Following this, officials of the central investigative agency summoned and questioned several coal traders. Based on this, seven more people have been summoned. The ED has summoned a total of 15 people in this case. It should be noted that the ED’s raids in the coal smuggling case were not limited to Kolkata; in November last year, raids were conducted in multiple locations in West Bengal and Jharkhand. It is reported that these raids were conducted at more than 40 locations in the two states. The ED seized several documents during the raids. Not only that, several crores of rupees, jewellery, and other items were confiscated. According to ED sources, a large quantity of illegal coal was also seized during the raids.

ED raided over 40 locations in West Bengal and Jharkhand in November

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided over 40 locations across West Bengal and Jharkhand on November 21, 2025, in connection with a money laundering probe linked to a large-scale coal theft and smuggling racket. Searches were carried out in 24 premises in West Bengal, including Kolkata, Howrah, and Purulia, and 18 locations in Jharkhand.

The ED raids were conducted in cases related to illegal coal mining, illegal transportation and storage of coal. The raids which began at 6 a.m. on Friday, resulted in the recovery of significant amounts of unaccounted cash and gold jewellery from the premises of coal mafia members. In addition to cash and gold, the ED also seized incriminating documents, digital records, and financial transaction files.

About 100 investigating officers of the ED conducted this search, who were accompanied by Armed Forces jawans. The operation targeted a coal mafia network involved in illegal mining, transportation, and storage, which has allegedly caused hundreds of crores of rupees in financial loss to the government. Approximately 100 ED officials, supported by central security forces, conducted the simultaneous searches that began early in the morning.

The premises of several individuals and entities were raided, including Narendra Kharka, Anil Goyal, Yudhistir Ghosh, Krishnamurari Kayal, and LB Singh in connection with illegal coal trading. During one raid in Jharkhand, coal trader LB Singh allegedly released his pet dogs to obstruct ED officials from entering his residence. However, the ED team managed to control the situation and continued the raid.

Incidentally, recently, a businessman named Narendra Kharka was summoned to Delhi in a coal smuggling case. He is once again under the scanner of investigators. Narendra Kharka’s name came into the limelight after the murder of coal businessman Raju Jha in Shaktigarh on April 1, 2023.

Meanwhile, the ED team raided 18 places in Ranchi. Searches are underway at about 40 places across Jharkhand. The names of businessmen Anil Goyal, Sanjay Uddhog, LB Singh and Amar Mandal have come up in the illegal coal business case. Raids are underway in all their properties. The ED estimated corruption worth hundreds of crores of rupees in this case.

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