September 8, Monday: On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted large-scale raids in West Bengal in relation to its investigation of so-called money laundering in illegal sand mining.
The central agency started its search in the early morning (6 am), sending various teams to search in 22 locations that were located in Kolkata and some of the districts.
What are the locations ED raided?
The Economics Times reported the raids were concentrated in Kolkata including Behala and Regent Park along with Gopiballavpur in Jhargram district, Kalyani in Nadia district, North 24 Parganas, and parts of Salt Lake City. Central forces were deployed at each site to maintain security and prevent disturbances.
Businessman Sheikh Zahirul Ali of Gopiballavpur, Jhargram’s three-storey residence on the banks of the Subarnarekha River was among the prime targets of Monday’s operations. ED officials believe his property is linked to sand mining activities that have been operating illegally for years. The entire area was cordoned off by security forces as the raid continued.
ED officers also searched a house on James Long Sarani, suspected to function as the office of a company tied to the illegal sand trade. Another major location was Salt Lake’s Sector 5, where the organisation under probe reportedly operates an office.
The agency also zeroed in on properties linked to Dhiman Chakraborty, a director associated with G.D. Mining. Residences and business establishments tied to Chakraborty and others were searched across Kolkata, Nadia, and North 24 Parganas.
The ED’s investigation is focused not just on mining operations but also on tracking the money trail of how funds from sand smuggling were laundered and circulated through companies and individuals.
Notably, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself has accused sections of the state machinery of enabling such illegal trades. “Some lower-level officers, who do not like this government, including some police officers, are taking money and allowing theft in sand, coal, cement and stones… Why is the land department sitting idle? Why are they quiet?” she said at a press conference in November 2024.
“I had already asked them to call for tenders for sand and stone mining. In coal, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is taking money and allowing theft.”
