CBI arrests seven in illegal coal transportation recovery case in Jharkhand

RANCHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested seven persons, including three employees of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), in connection with illegal recovery and extortion during coal transportation in the Giddi area of Jharkhand's Ramgarh district, an agency statement said.

The arrests were made by the Ranchi unit of the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), which had been probing the matter following complaints of systematic extortion from coal traders and transporters.

According to CBI officials, a commission was being illegally collected for clearing trucks and facilitating the transportation of coal. The accused allegedly operated in an organised manner, pressuring traders to pay bribes in exchange for passing coal-laden trucks in the road-sale process.

The arrested CCL employees have been identified as Anil Kumar, Deepak Kumar, and Naresh Kumar, who allegedly manipulated transaction processes to extort money.

Anil Kumar is the Security Officer/Manager (Mining) of Giddi C Colliery Project, Argada Area, of the CCL, Deepak Kumar, a Clerk Grade-III of the colliery, and Naresh Kumar, a security guard.

In addition, four other individuals -- Mohd Saddam, Israel Ansari, Mohd Tabarak, and Arun Lal -- were taken into custody for working as coal lifters and brokers, accused of collecting illegal payments to allow coal lifting, CBI said.

The ACB registered a case under RC 9(A)/2025-R and carried out multiple raids in the Giddi area, during which it gathered evidence of the extortion racket.

Investigators found that the accused had been running the operation for a considerable period, siphoning money from traders and transporters under the guise of commission.

“All the arrested accused will be produced before the court. The investigation is still underway to identify other individuals linked to this network,” a senior CBI official said, adding that the roles of more officials and middlemen are under the scanner.