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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has again summoned Trinamool Congress (TMC) National Secretary Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira Banerjee here in the national capital next week in connection with an alleged coal scam.
Abhishek has been asked by the ED to appear before the investigators on March 21 while his wife has been asked to appear on March 22, said sources. Abhishek was earlier summoned by the ED in connection with the case and he had appeared before the investigating officers in Delhi. Abhishek and his wife last year had moved the Delhi High Court against the summons issued by the agency last year in September which was dismissed on March 11. On March 11, a bench of Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar had denied the relief to Abhishek and his wife over the summons by ED over appearing in the national capital since they are the residents of Bengal. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing ED raising Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) said that the jurisdiction of ED is not 'confined' to any particular area or a police station. Following the court's order, ED issued summons to Abhishek and his wife. On September 6 last year, Abhishek was questioned over eight hours here in Delhi in connection with the coal scam. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started the probe in the coal smuggling case and the ED initiated a parallel investigation. The CBI registered the case in November last year. It is alleged that 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 West Bengal where the Eastern Coalfields Limited runs several mines. On February 21 last year, a CBI team visited Abhishek's residence and summoned his wife and his sister-in-law Menaka Gambhir over the alleged connection in the coal scam. After quizzing Rujira, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials said that they are not satisfied with her reply. (ANI)
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