By Admin 
In a major action on Friday (21 November 2025), ED raided 44 locations simultaneously in the coal scam case in West Bengal and Jharkhand. This action was taken under the Money Laundering Act. ED teams recovered cash and gold and jewelery worth more than Rs 14 crore during these raids. Apart from this, many important documents have been found, which include property papers, agreements related to land purchase and sale, digital devices and book accounts of many companies. These documents are being said to be related to the coal syndicate.
In Jharkhand, ED raided 20 places in Dhanbad and Dumka, which are said to be linked to Lal Bahadur Singh, Anil Goyal, Sanjay Khema, Amar Mandal and their people. Raids were conducted at 24 locations in West Bengal, including Durgapur, Purulia, Howrah and Kolkata. Here raids were conducted on houses, offices, coke plants and illegal toll collection centres. These hideouts are said to be linked to Narendra Khadka, Krishna Murari Kayal, Yudhishthir Ghosh, Raj Kishore Yadav, Lokesh Singh, Chinmay Mandal, Nirad Baran Mandal and others. More than 100 ED officers were involved in this entire operation and CRPF was also deployed for security.
ED investigation based on multiple FIRs
The ED investigation is based on several FIRs, which were registered by West Bengal and Jharkhand Police in cases of illegal coal mining and smuggling. Investigation has revealed that a big network was stealing coal and sending it from Jharkhand to Bengal, that too without any valid document. The records and documents found in the raid have confirmed these allegations.
What did ED find in the raid?
ED has also recovered diaries and registers during the raid, in which complete accounts of illegally recovered money and its distribution are recorded. This also revealed that this syndicate was getting help at the local level. About 7.9 lakh metric tonnes of coal and coal products were found in three coke plants of West Bengal, which are said to be stored illegally. ED has said that the investigation is ongoing and further action may be taken.
Also read: What is Article 240? Ruckus in Punjab over Centre’s proposal to bring Chandigarh under its ambit! know