Kolkata: The ED, probing illegal coal mining in Bengal, on Tuesday sent summonses to six coal traders who were allegedly involved in the coal smuggling nexus. At least three of the six have been under the radar of central agencies in connection with a multi-state coal smuggling racket.
The development comes just five days after ED conducted searches at I-PAC's office in Salt Lake and its director's Loudon Street home relating to a 2020 coal-scam case.
The name of Narendra Kharka, a Salt Lake resident, surfaced when the CBI started a probe into the murder of Raju Jha, a coal mafioso, in Saktigarh in 2023. Kharka has received the ED call.
Krishna Murari Kayal, a businessman who has a residence at Silver Spring Housing near EM Bypass, was also asked to appear before the ED.
The ED also sent a notice to Nirad Baran Mandal, a businessman already under the agency's radar in connection with a coal scam in Jharkhand. Both Kharka and Mandal were arrested by CBI in 2021 in connection with the coal scam. Mandal's name also figures in CBI's charge sheet in 2022.