CBI summons Trinamool MLA Saokat Molla for questioning in coal theft case

New Delhi: The CBI has summoned Trinamool Congress MLA Saokat Molla for questioning in a case of alleged coal theft from the mines of the Eastern Coalfields Ltd in West Bengal, officials said on Wednesday.

The CBI asked Molla, an MLA from Canning Purba constituency, to appear for questioning at its office in Kolkata on Wednesday to answer questions pertaining to alleged theft and payments made thereof, they said.

A team of the central investigating agency had interrogated Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee’s wife at their residence for over seven hours on Tuesday in connection with the alleged coal pilferage scam.

This was the second time that the CBI had interrogated her in connection with the case. She was interrogated for the first time in February 2021.

The multi-crore coal pilferage scam is related to the Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) mines in West Bengal’s Kunustoria and Kajora areas.

The CBI had registered an FIR in November 2020 against the alleged kingpin of the pilferage racket, Anup Manjhi alias Lala, ECL general managers Amit Kumar Dhar, and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL security chief Tanmay Das, Kunustoria area security inspector Dhananjay Rai and Kajor area security in-charge Debashish Mukherjee.