The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested nine Trinamool Congress (TMC) supporters from Bengal’s Jhargram district on Friday in connection with a post-assembly poll murder and announced a reward for the arrest of two women named in a similar allegation in North 24 Parganas district while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned law minister Moloy Ghatak to Delhi for questioning in the coal smuggling case, officials said.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee alleged in the middle of an administrative meeting on Thursday that the Central probe agencies have become proactive because Bengal will witness polls at 108 civic bodies in February.
She expressed her anger at the CBI for summoning TMC’s Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal, a leader known to be close to her, in connection with post-poll violence. The actions were being taken to help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Banerjee alleged.
Citing illness, Mondal moved the Calcutta high court which granted him relief from arrest on Thursday. Justice Rajasekhar Mantha ordered that though no action can be taken against Mondal without the court’s consent he must appear before the CBI for questioning.
On Friday, the CBI shifted its focus to Jhargram district and arrested nine men who were accused in a murder case registered by the agency in September last year. The alleged victim, Tarak Sahu, a BJP worker, was hacked to death at Pindrakuli.
The Jhargram police station registered a case against 14 people, the CBI said in a statement, adding that the nine men did not appear for questioning. The investigation was taken over by the CBI following orders from the Calcutta high court.
TMC Rajya Sabha member Shantanu Sen alleged that Friday’s arrests were proof of the CBI’s bias because Sahu, the alleged victim, was also an accused in the murder of a local TMC worker.
“It has been proved that TMC workers cannot expect justice from the CBI. The agency has not touched any BJP worker involved in violence,” said Sen.
Refuting the charge, Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “The BJP has no role to play in this investigation. The CBI is following the orders of the high court which received specific complaints.”
The CBI has formed several teams for the probe. Each team comprises deputy inspector generals and superintendents from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka and other states. Every team is headed by a joint director. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is providing security for the officers.
The CBI on Friday also announced a reward of ₹50,000 each for the arrest of two women who are wanted in connection with the death of 85-year-old Shova Majumdar, a resident of Nimta in North 24 Parganas district.
Though Majumdar died at home on March 29 last year, while the five-phase polling was on, the BJP alleged that she was assaulted by ruling party workers on February 27.
In another development, ED officials said they sent a notice to Bengal law minister Moloy Ghatak for questioning at the agency’s Delhi office on February 8 in connection with the coal smuggling case. TMC national general secretary and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, and his wife were questioned earlier in this case. Ghatak, too, had to face the ED last year.
According to the central agencies, illegally mined coal worth several thousand crores of rupees has been sold in the black market over several years by a racket operating in the western parts of Bengal where the Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) runs a number of mines.
The BJP has alleged that proceeds from the sales went to the TMC’s election funds.
Four Bengal businessmen were arrested by the CBI in September in the coal smuggling case. The suspects, Joydeb Mondal, Narayan Nanda, Nirad Mondal and Gurupada Majhi were held from West Burdwan and Bankura districts. The ED earlier arrested three people, including a state police inspector.
