15 guns, 56 bullets seized in ECL quarter in Bengal’s Andal; coal mafia link under probe

Officers suspect Alam was involved in procuring and supplying illegal firearms for coal-related criminal operations in the Raniganj-Jamuria coalfields. They are now probing the source of the weapons and whether the two accused were part of a larger interstate arms network.

The STF is also investigating the alleged links of the accused with other members of the coal syndicate and tracing their activities in West Bengal and neighbouring Jharkhand.

The recovery has also renewed focus on illegal coal mining and theft in the state’s coal belt. ECL chairman and managing director Satish Jha urged employees and other stakeholders to use the Ministry of Coal’s Khanan Prahari mobile application to report illegal mining and coal theft.

“Illegal coal mining and theft result in the loss of valuable national resources and pose serious challenges to safety, environmental sustainability and the well-being of local communities,” ECL said in a statement. The company said the app enables workers and citizens to report unauthorised mining and theft, with the aim of strengthening monitoring of coal operations.