Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira stopped at airport by officials on ED reques
A TMC leader said Rujira Banerjee reached the airport at about 7am for the flight and picked up her boarding pass. She was stopped soon after.
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira on Monday was turned back from the airport by immigration officials following a lookout circular by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), prompting the ruling TMC to accuse federal agencies of harassing Banerjee and his family at the instance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“The BJP can’t fight politically and is hence harassing Abhishek Banerjee and his family members,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told reporters, hours after Rujira returned home from the airport. She was scheduled to take a flight to Dubai.
A TMC leader said Rujira Banerjee reached the airport at about 7am for the flight and picked up her boarding pass. She was stopped soon after.
An official at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport said she was stopped by immigration officials when she reached the counter who acted on a lookout circular issued by ED.
In September last year, Rujira’s sister Maneka Gambhir was also stopped at Kolkata airport by immigration officials over an ED alert and handed over summons to appear for questioning in the coal smuggling case
ED officials on Monday did not confirm if the lookout circular against Rujira Banerjee was also issued in the same case.
Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, wife Rujira and her sister Gambhir have been questioned by ED and CBI in connection with this case in the past.
CBI registered the coal smuggling case in November 2020 and ED joined the probe later. It is alleged that illegally mined coal, worth several thousand crores of rupees, has been sold in the black market over several years by a racket operating in the western parts of Bengal where the Eastern Coalfields Limited runs several mines. It is alleged that proceeds from the coal trade went to political leaders. Around a dozen former and serving ECL staff have been arrested.
BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said he was not aware of the details of what happened at the airport on Monday.
“I am still unaware of what happened inside the airport and under what circumstances she was stopped. If she has been wrongfully stopped, they may move court,” Bhattacharya told reporters.
A TMC leader said Rujira intended to move court against the lookout circular.
