ED Recovers Cash in Sand Mining Case After Statewide Raids in West Bengal
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized large amounts of cash during statewide raids in connection with an alleged illegal sand mining case in West Bengal on Monday, officials said. Nearly Rs 90 lakh (about $108,000) was recovered from properties linked to businessmen in West Midnapore and Jhargram districts. The searches began early Monday morning across multiple locations, including West Midnapore, Jhargram, North 24 Parganas, Nadia, and Kolkata. At least three vehicles carrying ED officials arrived at the Jamunabali residence of businessman Saurabh Roy, located in the Shiromoni area of West Midnapore, around 8 a.m., officials said. The raid at Roy’s residence lasted more than 13 hours. By the time officials left around 9 p.m., they carried two bags suspected to contain seized materials. Later, ED sources confirmed that investigators recovered approximately ₹65 lakh in cash, along with mobile phones, mining-related documents, and other papers of interest. According to investigators, Roy owns multiple sand quarries in Jhargram and operates a sprawling bungalow and office in Lalgarh. While his Jamunabali residence houses his mother, wife, son, and daughter-in-law, Roy himself was not present during the search, officials said. In a parallel operation, ED teams searched the home of another businessman, identified as Sheikh Zaherul Sheikh, in Gopiballavpur, Jhargram district. Nearly ₹25 lakh was recovered there, according to preliminary estimates. Other properties tied to Sheikh are also under the scanner, officials added. While ED officers did not issue a public statement at the search sites, the operations are part of an ongoing probe into alleged large-scale money laundering and unaccounted transactions linked to sand mining in the state, sources said. Illegal sand mining has been a long-standing issue in Bengal, drawing repeated criticism from opposition parties and environmental activists. The raids also extended to several addresses in North 24 Parganas, Nadia, and Kolkata, though officials have not disclosed details of recoveries from those locations. The ED, a federal financial crime-fighting agency, has stepped up its operations in Bengal in recent months, targeting alleged irregularities in coal and cattle smuggling cases as well. Monday’s operations mark one of the largest seizures in the sand mining case to date.
