Ex-policeman arrested in coal scam; fresh cases against former Trinamool MLAs
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former police officer Manoranjan Mondal in connection with a coal smuggling investigation in West Bengal, officials confirmed on Friday. Mondal, previously the officer-in-charge of Barabani police station, was taken into custody on Thursday evening after lengthy questioning at the CGO complex in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
Mondal had been under scrutiny for some time and had repeatedly failed to appear before the agency despite summons. ED sources said inconsistencies emerged in his statements, and he could not provide satisfactory explanations for several financial transactions. He was suspended from duty in 2024 on separate corruption allegations. Mondal was produced at Bankshall Court on Friday.
In a separate case, former Trinamool Congress MLA Saokat Molla has been booked on rape allegations following a complaint by a woman accusing him of sexual abuse and blackmail over several years. The case was registered at Jibantala police station in South 24 Parganas earlier this week, with incidents alleged to date back to 2019. Molla was already arrested by the National Investigation Agency on June 5 in connection with a bomb blast in Bhanagar before the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Other Trinamool leaders have also faced legal action. Former minister Udayan Guha, earlier booked for corruption in the Awas Yojana Scheme, now faces fresh allegations from local Left leaders in north Bengal. A formal complaint was lodged at Dinhata Police Station. Separately, former Trinamool MLA from Tarakeshwar, Ramendu Singha Roy, was arrested in Karnataka on charges of extortion and corruption.
