Abhishek Banerjee's sister-in-law appears before ED in coal smuggling case

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], September 12 (ANI): Maneka Gambhir, the sister-in-law of Trinamool Congress (TMC) National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee, arrived at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office on Monday on being summoned by the probe agency in connection with the coal smuggling case.
Earlier on Saturday, Gambhir was stopped at Kolkata airport and not allowed to take a flight to Bangkok by ED officials.
Gambhir was sent back home with a summon to join the investigation on Monday, sources told ANI. This is the third summon by ED issued to Gambhir.
Earlier she had challenged the ED summons in Calcutta High Court and was allowed to appear at the ED's office at the Central Government Office (CGO) at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata, instead of appearing in New Delhi.
On Saturday Gambhir reached Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata to catch a flight to Bangkok but on reaching the immigration counter, she was stopped and escorted to another room.
Immigration officials informed ED officials about her, as a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against Ganbhir by the federal probe agency. ED officials denied her permission to travel to Bangkok. She was handed over a summon by Assistant Enforcement Officer to appear before him on Monday. After that Gambhir left for her residence.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) originally took over the investigation of the coal smuggling scam by registering a case back in November 2020. Later, the ED was roped in the investigation process to probe the money laundering angle. (ANI)