TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's Wife Appears Before ED In Connection With Bengal Coal Scam Case

Rujira Banerjee, the wife of Abhishek Banerjee, the Lok Sabha member and national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday after being prevented from boarding a flight to the UAE earlier this week due to a "lookout" notice issued by the central organisation.

Rujira received a summons to appear before the organisation on June 8 when she arrived at the airport. She was questioned by the ED in relation to the coal theft case last year. She had previously been questioned by the CBI in the same matter in 2021.

According to officials, Rujira came before the ED in Kolkata on Thursday to be questioned on a coal theft case, according to news agency PTI. According to them, Rujira was being questioned by a panel of five officers, including officers from New Delhi.

According to a source at the ED, the investigators have prepared a three-page questionnaire for her.

Abhishek, the nephew of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, dared the ED to arrest him or his wife earlier this week during a news conference in the evening, asserting that the "harassment" of his family was intended to halt his campaign ahead of the panchayat elections.

According to news agency PTI, he declared that his wife will appear before the ED on June 8 and that his family had done nothing illegal.

“I will not bow my head before anyone apart from the masses. The ED has summoned my wife as they (BJP) want this outreach campaign to stop. The BJP is afraid of the public support for the campaign, and that is why they are harassing my family,” he claimed.

“I dare the ED to arrest me or my wife if they have any proof of corruption. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP can’t fight us politically, so they are harassing us. If they want, they can also arrest my kids,” he remarked, as quoted by PTI.

The TMC MP also said he would file a complaint to stop the "violation" of the Supreme Court judgement.

Meanwhile, PTI reported senior ED officer as saying, “We have asked Rujira Banerjee to appear before our officers at the city office on June 8. She was today (Monday) stopped from boarding the flight because of the ED’s lookout notice against her, and the matter is sub-judice”.

"She was stopped at the immigration, citing a lookout notice issued by the ED in a case," one of Rujira's lawyers told PTI. The Supreme Court ruled that her travel abroad is not prohibited. The attorney claims that she gave a copy of her tickets and told the ED about her travel plans on Saturday.

According to a statement made by Rujira's office, the pair is not subject to any travel restrictions abroad, according to a Supreme Court decision, PTI said.

"From October 5 to October 18, Rujira Banerjee was in the United States, and the ED had no objections at the time.

“Rujira had not been stopped from travelling abroad during the ongoing investigation by the ED. She has not been called for interrogation except once in June last year, which she duly complied with,” the statement said, as per PTI.

The ED's action was described as "inhuman" by CM Mamata Banerjee.

“The Supreme Court had given her permission to visit abroad. Her mother has been unwell for quite some time. This is inhuman. She informed the ED a few days ago. They could have asked her not to go, but now she has been served with a notice, which is not correct,” she said.

The BJP responded to Abhishek's accusations by claiming that the ED is an independent agency.

“The BJP has nothing to do with the CBI or ED. The allegations are baseless. If they have any complaints, they can always move court,” BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, as quoted by PTI.

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