A source related to the probe told IANS: "The CBI has summoned Menka Gambhir's father-in-law Pawan Arora and husband Ankush Arora for questioning on March 15 at its office here."

 

The CBI has earlier questioned Abhishek's wife Rujira Banerjee and his sister-in-law Menka in connection with the same case.

 

Abhishek is nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinanool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.

 

The CBI had registered a case against the alleged kingpin of the pilferage racket Anup Majhi alias Lala, Eastern Coalfield Ltd General Managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL chief of security Tanmay Das, area security inspector Kunustoria Dhananjay Rai, and SSI and security in-charge Kajora area Debashish Mukherjee in November last year.

 

On February 26, the CBI searched the premises of a businessman in Kolkata and on February 19, the agency had also carried out searches at 13 locations in four districts of West Bengal including the premises of coal mafia Jaidev Mondal.

 

On November 28 last year, the CBI had conducted raids at 45 locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh in connection with the coal smuggling racket.

 

The central agency's actions have turned the heat on in the poll-bound West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP are engaged in a bitter war of words.

 

Polling to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in eight phases, on March 27, April 1, April 6, April 10, April 17, April 22, April 26 and April 29. Counting will take place on May 2.