The CID has summoned four BJP leaders, including former Asansol mayor Jitendra Tiwari, for interrogation in connection with alleged coal smuggling.

Other than Tiwari, three other BJP leaders who have been summoned are the party’s Purulia unit president Vivek Ranga, his predecessor Vidyasagar Chakraborty and BJP convener of West Burdwan Subrata Mishra.

Mishra had been asked to appear for questioning earlier this week, but sought more time on grounds of “ill health”. Tiwari, who had deserted the Trinamul Congress and joined the BJP just before the Assembly elections in 2021, said he had received an email and WhatsApp message on Wednesday asking him to appear at Bhawani Bhavan in Calcutta on Friday.

“Investigating agencies can call anybody for investigations and interrogation,” Tiwari said when asked about the summons.

He sought more time from the CID for the appearance.

The police could not deliver the summons to Ranga and Chakraborty on Tuesday as they were not at their homes. Sources said they were in Calcutta to attend the BJP’s Nabanna Abhiyan. However, Ranga and Chakraborty said they wouldn’t respond to the summons.

The CID probe is significant in the backdrop of investigations by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate into the alleged coal smuggling. Several Trinamul Congress leaders, including national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, are under the scanner of the central agencies.

The CID had interrogated a dozen police officers in the case last month. Sources said many of them (police officers) had told the CID about the alleged involvement of Tiwari (when he was in Trinamul and was the mayor of Asansol) in the alleged coal smuggling.

The CID has also launched an investigation into alleged cattle smuggling, which is also being probed by the CBI. The CID has decided to seek permission from the court concerned for interrogating alleged cattlesmuggling kingpin Enamul Haque, who is now lodged in Tihar jail.

Sources said the CID had also decided to interrogate Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari in the cattle smuggling case. Adhikari had been the Trinamul observer for Murshidabad district from 2014 to 2016. Haque hails from Murshidabad.

Adhikari’s former security personnel have already been questioned.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had ordered parallel probes by the CID in the coal and cattle smuggling cases ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections. Sources said the chief minister was annoyed at the way in which the central agencies were arresting and interrogating Trinamul Congress leaders in the smuggling cases.

A Trinamul leader said Mamata was trying to pay back the BJP in its own coin through the CID in the cases taken up by the CBI and the ED.

The leader said through the counteractions, Mamata wanted to send the message that the BJP was not clean and was involved in the alleged coal and cattle smuggling.