When one door closed, two more opened for the illegal coal traders of Assam; their product caters to the never ending demand of the same in Guwahati. With coal smuggling from Meghalaya becoming difficult due to a National Green Tribunal (NGT) ban on the coal mining that was further reinforced after the recent coal smuggling reports in the city, the mafias have found ways to procure the same illegally from Barak Valley and Margherita within the state.
Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, on July 16 Monday, had decided to hand over the probe of coal scam in the Barak Valley to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“This is being done to ensure a thorough and impartial inquiry and appropriate action against the culprits,” Sonowal said.
Senior officials in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) informed G Plus that the decision has come post the seizure of a document from one Abdul Ahad Choudhury, a coal trader from Barak Valley. In the document, it was alleged that money has been given to several senior government officials by the coal syndicate to procure undue favours. Names of many government officials including deputy commissioner (DC), MLA, deputy inspector general (DIG) and superintendent of police (SP) have popped up along with the amounts paid to them.
CID officials alleged that with tens of government officials being allegedly involved in the syndicate, there seemed to be no department that could investigate the matter neutrally. Hence, CBI probe has been directed.
Similarly, in a confidential report of CID in January 2018, it had been acknowledged that “a coal syndicate has been operating in Margherita for the last many years and it is still continuing with support from the police, local politicians and some officials of the Coal India Limited among others”.
The illegal trade in coal continues till date with the syndicates now changing their mode of operation. While Coal India Limited (CIL) is the sole company that has been mining coal in the government mines in and around Margherita, it has been alleged by CID officials that coal is being illegally brought to the coke industries and then transported with challans (permission receipt) from these industries, most of which are running illegally in the area. Reportedly, there are more than 50 coal coke industries functioning in and around Margherita.
10 officials, 6 traders arrested by CID in illegal coal syndicate case
In February this year, the Assam government had announced CID enquiry into an alleged syndicate of illegal coal trade and smuggling operating in the state. A team of officers led by Additional SP (CID), Nirmal Baishya, has arrested 16 people, including field officials and Assam Civil Service (ACS) level officers in connection with the syndicate so far.
The arrested officials are Enforcement Inspector Chitra Kumar Nath, Superintendent of Tax Sajal Das, Enforcement Inspector Biswajit Bhattacharjee, Assistant Enforcement Inspector Babul Mandal, Inspector of Tax Anjan Jyoti Borah, Circle Officer of Katigora Manjur Ilahi Barbhuyan, Assistant Enforcement Inspector Tepu Ram Bora, Assistant Enforcement Inspector Anurag Shandilya, Enforcement Checker Madhav Neog and Enforcement Checker Mrigendra Sarma.
Apart from coal mafia kingpin Kuldeep Singh, CID has also arrested five persons from Jogighopa area of Bongaigaon district namely Mubarak Ali, Ahsan A Khan, Akibar Rahman, Faruk Ahmed and Bhaskar Kalita in connection with the alleged illegal coal syndicate.
The arrested officers were interrogated at the CID headquarters before their arrest. CID has also seized 6 coal-laden trucks from February onwards – two after crossing Koinadhora check gate and four after crossing Digorkhal check gate in Cachar.
Earlier this year, the arrest of Kuldeep Singh - said to be one of the kingpins of a thriving coal syndicate - had opened the lid of a much bigger coal smuggling nexus thriving in the Assam-Meghalaya border near the city’s Khanapara locality.
“During interrogation, Singh had revealed the names of many influential people. They are under our radar now. Since Singh is himself an accused in the case, his words cannot be trusted without verification and proof. So the police and CID are dealing with this issue very sternly to gather all information,” informed Additional SP (CID) Nirmal Baishya.
Police sources are also suspecting that there might be many more coal syndicates which are active in the northeastern region and they are delving deep into the matter.
CID to tighten the noose on coal trade, mines
More transport officials, politicians and police personnel are likely to be grilled by the CID which is probing the illegal coal syndicate case.
“Raids will be conducted at various illegal coal mines once the season begins. All the officers are under our scanner currently and some more officials will be summoned soon for investigation,” informed Nirmal Baishya, speaking to G Plus.
Coal mining and trading is a seasonal business, which reaches its peak during September – April every year. Although many names have come up during investigations, the CID cannot summon people without proof or without catching them red-handed.
Baishya further added that the investigation will encompass all the coal hubs including the Barak Valley and Margherita. “The CID team will leave no stone unturned to go to the root of the scam,” he said.
It has also come to light that a lot of weigh bridges are running without trade licenses issued by the transport department which is mandatory according to the Motor Vehicles Act. All weigh bridges will also be inspected, along with the details of trucks weighed on the bridges every day (total number of trucks, their weight and the revenue generated).
Earlier, the DTO had also mandated installation of CCTV cameras at all the weigh bridge premises. However, CID also discovered that the CCTVs installed at Khanapara check gate were not connected with the digital video recording system meaning that nothing was getting recorded or stored for future reference. Stricter enforcement of rules is also expected to take place in the state to curb the prevailing problems.
