A dramatic incident unfolded in Jharkhand’s Dumka during an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid when illegal coal trade accused Amar Mandal escaped moments after guiding ED officers to his own house. The raid took place early Friday morning in Sejkhoda village, where Mandal happened to be out for a morning walk. When the ED team stopped him and asked, “Where does Amar Mandal live?”, he calmly pointed them toward his house and fled on a motorcycle before officers realised they had spoken to the accused himself.
The next day, the ED confirmed major raids across 44 locations in Jharkhand and West Bengal linked to illegal mining and money laundering. Over ₹14 crore in cash, gold, jewellery, documents, digital devices, and account records were seized. Around 20 locations in Dhanbad and Dumka were linked to suspects including Lal Bahadur Singh, Anil Goyal, Sanjay Khema, and Amar Mandal, while 24 premises in Bengal—Durgapur, Purulia, Howrah, and Kolkata—were also searched.
The ED also claimed to have detected nearly 7.9 lakh metric tonnes of illegal coal at three coke plants. Mandal remains absconding, and officials admit the escape was a lapse during the operation.
