Following the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid controversy, SI Manoranjan Mondal, officer-in-charge (OC) of Budbud police station, has been transferred to the Special Branch (SB) of the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC) in a late-night order issued yesterday.
SI Laltu Kumar Pakhira, inspector-in-charge (IC) of Kalyaneswari Police Outpost, has been promoted as the new OC of Budbud police station. A fresh transfer order involving 22 police officers of the ranks of Inspector, sub-inspector and assistant sub-inspector was issued by the Commissioner of Police (CP), Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate, Sunil Kumar Choudhary, late last night.
Inspector Akhil Mukherjee, OC of Andal police station, has been transferred to the detective department (DD) of the ADPC, while SI Abhijit Singhya Roy, IC of Banbahal Police Outpost, has replaced him as the new OC of Andal police station, according to the latest order.
Although ADPC sources claim the reshuffle is routine, political parties allege that the transfer follows the ED raid at SI Manoranjan Mondal’s residence in City Centre, Durgapur, on 3 February. The raid was conducted in connection with the money trail in illegal sand mining cases and followed the subsequent arrests of two sand dealers — Chinmay Mondal and Kiran Khan — on Monday.
There is speculation that the ADPC sought to avoid further complications amid fears of possible arrest, as SI Mondal reportedly failed to appear in response to an ED summons issued last Monday.
The court has remanded Chinmay Mondal and Kiran Khan to custody until 18 February for further investigation. Both have previously been arrested several times by the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate in connection with illegal sand mining cases. The duo, who are relatives, have allegedly been questioned by the ED regarding approximately Rs 150 crore of unaccounted money in their bank accounts.
Earlier, SI Manoranjan Mondal had also been suspended from the post of OC of Barabani police station and posted to the Special Branch of the ADPC for a year over allegations of irregularities.
During search operations on 3 February, the ED also seized cash reportedly amounting to between Rs 65 lakh and Rs 80 lakh from a house in Jamuria.
The ED has been conducting fresh raids in connection with illegal sand and coal mining cases in West Burdwan district over the past few months. Following the arrests of the two sand dealers, the agency is now reportedly attempting to trace influential individuals allegedly involved in the illegal trade and the associated money trail.