Enforcement Directorate Raids 42 Locations in Bengal and Jharkhand Over Illegal Coal Operations

The Enforcement Directorate conducted simultaneous raids across 42 locations in Bengal and Jharkhand on Friday morning, targeting illegal mining, transportation, and storage of coal.

Over 100 ED officers began operations at 6 am, with searches still ongoing. The Kolkata office investigated 24 premises across Durgapur, Purulia, Howrah districts, and the state capital, while the Ranchi office covered 18 locations in neighboring Jharkhand. Raids targeted homes, offices, coke plants, and illegal toll booths.

Officials, accompanied by armed central forces for security, did not confirm connections between raided properties and the case. Reports indicated one Bengal location was the home and office of a contractor working at the Asansol office of Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a Coal India Limited subsidiary.

Photographs revealed substantial recoveries of cash and jewelry. One image from Bengal showed more than 30 bundles of Rs 500 notes packed in a suitcase. Each bundle contained approximately 400-500 notes (worth about Rs 2 lakh), potentially totaling nearly Rs 70 lakh.

Another photograph from Bengal displayed similar bundles stuffed into a duffle bag, with approximately 13 piles of Rs 500 notes summing to nearly Rs 30 lakh.

The raids also yielded at least eight large boxes of heavy gold jewelry and several smaller boxes. Some silver jewelry, including an elaborate necklace, was also seized.

Images from Ranchi raids revealed similarly substantial cash recoveries, with one photograph showing over 30 stacks of Rs 500 notes amounting to at least Rs 85 lakh, and another displaying piles of Rs 500 and Rs 200 notes totaling more than Rs 50 lakh.

Bengal's coal fields extend across Birbhum, Purulia, Paschim Bardhman, and Bankura districts. Eastern Coalfields Ltd filed its first complaint against illegal coal theft in 2020, with 597 total complaints filed and 28 individuals arrested during investigations between 2020 and 2021.

The Enforcement Directorate's actions will likely escalate tensions between Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of next year's elections.