KOLKATA:  Modern firearms from illegal weapons manufacturing hub Munger in Bihar were amassed in Raniganj and Asansol by the coal mafia even before Ram Navami celebrations and were supplied to both communities during the recent communal flare-up, according to a West Bengal government report to the Ministry of Home Affairs. In the report, the administration claimed that coal mafia and local arms peddlers with links to Bihar and Jharkhand cashed in on the situation and even brought in mercenaries from neighbouring states to foment trouble in West Bengal.
The report adds that the coal mafia involved in the clashes operates across the coal belt from Raniganj extending across the border up to Dhanbad in Jharkhand and have been funding political factions leading to their substantial political clout in both the states.