September 10, 2025

KOLKATA: A big storm hit West Bengal on Monday when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched raids at more than 20 places, including Kolkata, kicking off a money laundering probe linked to illegal sand mining. Imagine rivers being robbed day and night! Illegal mining of sand, boulders, and gravel is happening wildly across south and north Bengal. Officials say this is no small mess. The ED strikes began sharp at 6am in areas like Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Jhargram, and Midnapore. ED teams didn’t hold back, searching offices of a private sand mining firm in Salt Lake, homes of its top boss, and even places connected to an employee in Jhargram’s Gopiballavpur. They even raided an insurance agent's home in Kolkata's Regent Colony. A senior state government official spilled the truth: “Sand is legally extracted from blocks along the rivers’ banks, which are auctioned by the state government. But there are allegations that sand and riverbed material is extracted beyond the permissible limit and sold illegally using fake challans. Syndicates control the multi-crore racket.” To tackle this, in 2021, Mamata Banerjee’s government introduced a new sand mining policy to centralize and clean up the auction system. Mamata warned, “Because of the local mafia, the state government was losing out on revenue and the state’s natural resources were also being plundered. We have been noticing this for long and many complaints have also poured in. None would be spared even if he is an officer or a politician.” But politics is never far behind! The raids sparked a fierce battle of words. Suvendu Adhikari, opposition leader and BJP’s big voice, said, “It is a huge racket. If the state government earns ₹20 as revenue from sand mining, ₹80 goes into the pockets of Bhaipo (nephew) and his team. A nexus exists in which senior police officials are involved. They are paid hefty amounts as bribes. The ED should speed up its investigation.” Not taking it lightly, the ruling TMC fired back. Their spokesperson Arup Chakraborty blamed the timing: “Everyone understands why the ED and CBI are becoming hyperactive. Elections are coming. It is not the ED or CBI but the BJP, which decides which house to raid. Such raids are not carried out to arrest miscreants. They are carried out to rope in leaders of the opposition parties. The BJP uses these agencies as weapons.” This tug-of-war shows the complex layers behind the illegal sand mining case. As the investigation unfolds, West Bengal’s political scene is heating up alongside the dust kicked up by these raids.

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Tags: Enforcement directorate, Sand mining, West bengal, Money laundering, Tmc, Bjp,