ED summons Bengal law minister Moloy Ghatak on June 28

The Asansol Uttar MLA, who skipped appearing before the ED officers at its New Delhi office on June 19, has been asked to appear in person at the central probe agency's office, he said.

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued a summons to West Bengal Law minister Moloy Ghatak asking him to appear before its officers in New Delhi on June 28 in connection with its probe into the coal pilferage case in the state, a senior official said.

The Asansol Uttar MLA, who skipped appearing before the ED officers at its New Delhi office on June 19, has been asked to appear in person at the central probe agency's office, he said.

"Ghatak has been asked to appear in person before our officers in New Delhi on June 28. He was supposed to appear before our officers on Jun 19, but he skipped it. We are trying to find out what was Ghatak's exact role in the scam. We have evidence of his involvement in it," the officer told a amedi agency. Ghatak has so far appeared twice in front of ED officers for questioning in connection with the scam. Last September, the CBI conducted search operations at Ghatak's residences in Kolkata and Asansol.

Last year, the Law Minister had skipped appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a case of alleged coal pilferage from Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in Asansol.

Ghatak was summoned by the ED on September 10, 2022 to appear before investigators at its headquarters here on September 14, 2022 in the coal smuggling and money laundering case being investigated by the agency. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had interrogated Ghatak and conducted searches at his premises in West Bengal in connection with its probe into the alleged coal pilferage case.