Illegal sand mining: ED arrests 2 in West Burdwan

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made its first arrests in connection with illegal sand mining along the banks of the Damodar and Ajay rivers in West Burdwan district.

Chinmay Mondal and Kiran Khan were arrested in Kolkata on Monday after prolonged interrogation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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However, Sub-Inspector Manoranjan Mondal, officer-in-charge of Budbud police station, who was also summoned by the ED in the same case, failed to appear before the central agency in Kolkata.

According to ED sources, Chinmay Mondal, a resident of Durgapur, and his nephew Kiran Khan, who lives in Baktarnagar under the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate, were called for questioning on Monday. After failing to provide satisfactory explanations regarding the accumulation of large amounts of money and property, both were taken into custody.

On 3 February, the ED conducted simultaneous raids at ten locations in Durgapur, Asansol, Kolkata and New Delhi, including the residence of SI Manoranjan Mondal in City Centre, Durgapur.

During the raids, ED officials reportedly seized unaccounted cash amounting to between Rs 65 lakh and Rs 80 lakh from the residence of trader Rajesh Bansal in Jamuria. He has not been arrested so far.

Sources said the ED is tracing the money trail linked to an organised illegal sand mining and transportation syndicate operating across West Burdwan district. Raids were carried out at offices and residences in Panagarh, Durgapur, Pandaveswar, Raniganj and Jamuria, all under the jurisdiction of the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate. The agency is also probing the alleged involvement of influential political figures and police officials in the racket. Hundreds of overloaded trucks were allegedly transporting illegally mined sand daily from the Damodar and Ajay river ghats.

It remains unclear whether the ED will issue a fresh summons to SI Manoranjan Mondal after his failure to appear on Monday. ED sources claimed that large numbers of illegally loaded trucks passed through areas under Pandaveswar and Barabani police stations, where Mondal had earlier served as officer-in-charge.

Last year, SI Manoranjan Mondal was suspended from his post as OC of Barabani police station following strong warnings issued by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to then Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar during an administrative meeting in Kolkata. After a gap of nearly a year, he was recently reappointed as OC of Budbud police station by Commissioner of Police Sunil Kumar Chaudhury. The ED raided his residence even before he formally took charge.

Meanwhile, Asansol South MLA Agnimitra Paul said the central agencies must investigate whether money generated from illegal sand, stone, coal, iron and soil syndicates is being used in the election process and take appropriate action, adding that such investigations are nothing new.