Anup Maji aka Lala, the prime accused in the multi-crore coal smuggling case, on Tuesday surrendered before the special court of the CBI in Asansol following a Supreme Court directive after his relief given by the apex court ended.
The special judge, Rajesh Chakraborty, of the CBI court Asansol, however, granted him bail on certain conditions after a brief hearing of the case.
Maji's lawyer Abhishek Mukherjee said they moved bail plea for their client and the court after hearing both lawyers of both sides, including the CBI, granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh.
The court restricted his movement to a radius of 50 km from his residence at Neturia in Purulia district. The court also asked him to cooperate with the investigators and attend the court during the hearing of the cases.
Maji left the court around 10.30am, soon after bail was granted. He refused to respond to the questions of the media.
The coal scam is being probed by the central investigating agency since 2020. Several working and retired ECL employees; CISF personnel and Trinamool youth leader Binay Mishra's brother Bikash Mishra were among the prominent arrested persons in the coal scam.
However, the CBI on Tuesday had to face questions in the court about the progress of the probe.
When the CBI lawyer objected to Maji's bail plea, the court wanted to know from the investigating officer of the case what they had done against him so far.
Maji was granted relief by the Supreme Court three years ago and has been enjoying legal protection on his arrest.
However, the investigating officer could not give any satisfactory answer to the court. The court later directed the CBI to submit the final charge sheet on May 21 and start the trial.