Kolkata, January 20 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has ramped up its investigation into the multi-crore coal smuggling scandal in West Bengal, calling upon seven additional coal traders for interrogation, as reported by sources within the agency on Tuesday.

This brings the cumulative number of summoned coal traders to 15. The recent summons come in the wake of controversy following the ED's concurrent search operations at the offices of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and the home of its director and co-founder, Pratik Jain, on January 8, linked to the same investigation.

During the I-PAC search, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited Pratik Jain's residence and subsequently his office in Salt Lake. She accused the ED of unlawfully seizing party documents under the pretense of an investigation, even removing documents, laptops, and phones from both locations.

This incident sparked a conflict that escalated to the Calcutta High Court and subsequently to the Supreme Court. The apex court placed a stay on the FIRs filed by the West Bengal Police against ED officials in relation to the searches. The court noted that the petitions raised significant concerns regarding potential interference by state agencies in a central investigation. A Bench comprising Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul Pancholi issued notices to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, and Kolkata Police Commissioner among others, based on the ED’s claims of obstruction during the search operations.

In its interim ruling, the Supreme Court also mandated the preservation of CCTV footage and other storage devices containing recordings from the searched locations and surrounding areas until the next hearing.

Amidst these developments, the ED is re-focusing on the coal smuggling network operating between West Bengal and Jharkhand. A number of coal traders have already been interrogated, leading to the emergence of additional suspects. As a result, seven more individuals involved in the coal trade have been summoned.

These individuals are expected to be interrogated primarily to extract further details regarding the flow of funds from coal smuggling activities. Additionally, authorities are likely to probe any links to prominent figures.

The ED had conducted extensive raids last November at over 40 locations across West Bengal and Jharkhand concerning the coal smuggling case. During these operations, the agency seized numerous documents and recovered cash amounting to several crores of rupees, along with valuable jewellery.