ED attaches fresh assets worth Rs 159 cr in West Bengal coal case
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached fresh assets worth Rs 159 crore in a money laundering investigation linked to alleged illegal coal mining and pilferage in poll-bound West Bengal, a case in which it also raided the political consultancy firm I-PAC.
The attached assets include investments in movable financial instruments such as corporate bonds and alternative investment funds held in the names of entities like Shyam Sel and Power Ltd and Shyam Ferro Alloys Ltd, part of the Shyam Group, managed and controlled by Sanjay Agarwal and Brij Bhushan Agarwal, the agency said in a statement.
The ED case stems from a November 2020 FIR filed by the CBI, which alleged a multi-crore rupee coal pilferage scam related to Eastern Coalfields Limited mines in West Bengal's Kunustoria and Kajora areas, in and around Asansol.
Anup Majee alias Lala, arrested by the agency a few years ago, has been stated by the ED as the leader of this syndicate.
The agency claimed certain companies in the state "knowingly" purchased illegally excavated coal with cash.
It earlier attached assets worth Rs 322 crore and pegged the estimate of proceeds of crime at Rs 2,742 crore.
The federal probe agency last conducted searches in this case on January 8. Kolkata premises of the political consultancy firm I-PAC and one of its directors Pratik Jain were among the targets of those raids.
The action led to much controversy and the ED alleged in a press statement that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee entered Jain's residence during the raids, "took away key evidence," and followed the same action at the I-PAC office.
Banerjee and her party, Trinamool Congress, alleged that the ED, in the garb of searches, tried to take away its election-strategy related documents from I-PAC premises just before the upcoming assembly polls in the state.
The ED approached the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into the incident.
The ED claims that the coal syndicate engaged in "illegal" excavation and "widespread" coal pilferage, distributing coal to multiple factories in West Bengal with the "active facilitation" of local administrative elements.
"The offence involves multiple layers of complex financial transactions designed to conceal the origin and ownership of illicit funds.
"The ED continues to systematically unravel these layers to identify ultimate beneficiaries, trace additional proceeds of crime, and detect all persons involved in the laundering process," it said.
West Bengal will see a two-phased polls for its 294 seat assembly on April 23 and April 29.
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Guv Gehlot clears bill paving way for Panchayat elections through ballots
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has given his assent to the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Act that will pave the way for holding the Panchayat elections through ballots instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Following the assent, the Act was notified in the state gazette on Wednesday.
The bill was passed by both houses of the Karnataka legislature in March during the budget session, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
As per the law, the principle of secrecy of the ballot is a cornerstone of free and fair elections, as recognised by the judiciary, which emphasised that the secrecy of the ballot protects voters from coercion, intimidation, and undue influence, thereby safeguarding the sanctity of the democratic process in several judgments of the Supreme Court.
Some concerns have been raised regarding the functioning of EVMs, necessitating a return to the robust secret ballot paper system to restore public trust, according to the Act.
Justifying its decision, the Karnataka government said there is “a growing consensus on the need to strengthen electoral mechanisms that prioritise anonymity and transparency”.
