Coal Pilferage Case: Abhishek’s wife stopped from flying abroad, also gets ED notice

The TMC hit out at the BJP government at the Centre, accusing it of trying to divert the attention of people from the train tragedy in Odisha.

The ED summons to Rujira came after she was stopped from boarding a flight to Dubai at the Kolkata airport by immigration officials, who cited a “lookout” notice against her.

Rujira, who has been earlier questioned by the central probe agency in the coal pilferage case, has been asked by the ED to explain why she was leaving the country despite knowing that a lookout notice has been issued against her.
The ED had earlier issued a lookout notice against Rujira that forbids her from flying abroad.

Sources close to her, however, said that there was a court order allowing her to fly abroad. “She (Rujira) was stopped by immigration officials, who cited a lookout notice issued by the ED in a case. There is a court order which clearly says that there is no bar on her travelling abroad. At the same time, Rujira had informed the ED about her journey and shared her travel plan details along with a copy of her tickets a few days ago. There was no response from the ED, but now she has been stopped. We are mulling legal options,” said a source close to her.

Rujira was first questioned by the CBI in February 2021 in connection with the coal pilferage case. Last year, the ED also questioned her. Her husband and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee have also been questioned on several occasions by the central agencies in connection with the case.

TMC supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the ED for sending a notice to Rujira Banerjee, describing it as an “inhuman act”.

Speaking to mediapersons, the CM said, “It is unfortunate what the ED and CBI are doing. They are harassing people. Abhishek Banerjee’s mother-in-law is unwell, and hence her wife was travelling to meet her mother. The Supreme Court had said that if she were to leave the city, she could inform the ED and do so, which she did well in advance. ED officials could have told her in advance that she couldn’t travel abroad. But handing summons at the airport itself is nothing but harassment. This is an inhuman act.”

The chief minister also questioned the timing of the notice. “The central government is not ashamed over deaths in the Balasore train accident. Instead of helping the people, they are trying to divert attention from the entire incident,” said Banerjee.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Banerjee, who was holding a roadshow in Hooghly district as part of his statewide Jan Sanyog Yatra, said his family was being targeted by the BJP after failing to fight him politically.

“I will not bow my head down even if they arrest me, my wife or my children. I will continue to fight against the BJP and the gaddars (traitors), no matter how many summons are sent to me or my family members. If I have to bow my head down, then I will do it before the people, and not before agencies. I challenge the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrest me if they have any evidence against me. I will not listen to lectures on honesty from people who betrayed our party and joined the BJP under pressure,” the TMC MP from Diamond Harbour said.

Abhishek claimed that by not allowing his wife to fly to Dubai, the ED had violated the Supreme Court order which did not put any restrictions on him and his wife from travelling abroad. “There is a Supreme Court order on this. Last September, my wife travelled with me abroad for medical treatment. The ED did not object to it then. Now despite, prior intimation to the ED about her visit, my wife was stopped at the airport… We will move the Supreme Court against ED for contempt of court,” he said, adding that Rujira “will definitely respond to the ED summon and cooperate with the agency in the investigation”.

The TMC described the notices sent to both Rujira and minister Ghatak as examples of BJP-led Centre’s “vendetta politics”. “This is an attempt to malign the image of Abhishek Banerjee by making personal attacks. The BJP is scared to see the popularity of Abhishek Banerjee and hence it is misusing the agency to harass his family as they cannot fight with him politically. They are using different methods to target him as they have become politically bankrupt,” the party said.

The BJP, on the other hand, slammed the TMC for evading central agency probes. BJP state unit president Sukanta Majumdar said, “If there is a lookout notice against a person, then that person cannot go abroad. Now, these people are trying to evade the investigation by making excuses. They are going from one court to another to get relief. If they are innocent, then what is stopping them from facing the investigation?”