Maneka Gambhir reportedly showed up at the Enforcement Directorate office at 12.30 am
Maneka Gambhir, the sister-in-law of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, was handed a revised summons by the Enforcement Directorate after it made the embarrassing error of asking her to come for questioning at 12:30 AM instead of 12:30 PM on Monday.
According to guidelines, a woman should not be questioned at night and female officers should be present during questioning.
Maneka Gambhir reportedly showed up at the Enforcement Directorate office at 12.30 AM and found it shut.
The Enforcement Directorate wants to question Maneka Gambhir in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam.
She was handed over the summons to appear on Monday "at 12:30 AM" by agency officials at the Kolkata airport on September 10. She was stopped at the airport from travelling abroad over the coal scam investigation.
Ms Gambhir reached the Enforcement Directorate's office in Kolkata's Salt Lake area around the time stated on the summons but found the office closed and returned after taking some photos as proof of her visit.
Enforcement Directorate sources called it a "typographical error" in which PM became AM.
Maneka Gambhir has reportedly been asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate at 2 PM.
The Calcutta High Court in August directed the Enforcement Directorate to question Ms Gambhir at its regional office in Kolkata and not in Delhi and also not to take coercive steps against her until the next date of hearing.
Ms Gambhir had challenged a summons that asked her to appear before it in Delhi on September 5, and had requested a change to Kolkata, where she claimed she lives.
Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and his wife Rujira have been questioned in the coal scam case earlier.
The coal scam pilferage case was registered by the CBI in 2020. The CBI claims that Mr Banerjee allegedly conspired with the officials of Eastern Coalfields Limited located near Asansol, officials of eastern railways and the CISF to pilfer coal. The Enforcement Directorate is investigating money laundering allegations linked to the scam.
The Trinamool Congress says central agencies are meant to guard coal and that it is Union Home Minister Amit Shah's responsibility to prevent theft or smuggling. Abhishek Banerjee, targeting Amit Shah, also called him "India's biggest Pappu", a term used by the BJP to deride Rahul Gandhi.