CBI questions suspected mastermind in coal mining case

New Delhi, Mar 30: The CBI on Tuesday questioned Anup Majhi, the alleged mastermind of illegal coal mining in Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in West Bengal's Asansol, in connection with the coal pilferage scam, officials said.

The Supreme Court had restrained the agency from arresting Majhi till April 6.

"The petitioner shall not be arrested until April 6. This order has been passed without going into the merit of the case. We clarify that this order will not restrain the investigation," a bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud had said.

The bench, also comprising Justices M R Shah and Sanjiv Khanna, directed that Majhi shall cooperate in the probe in the case.

The multi-crore coal pilferage scam is related to the Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in the state's Kunustoria and Kajora areas.

The CBI had registered an FIR in November last year against the alleged kingpin of the pilferage racket, Manjhi alias Lala, ECL general managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL security chief Tanmay Das, Kunustoria area security inspector Dhananjay Rai and Kajor area security in-charge Debashish Mukherjee.