Cattle smuggling case: Delhi HC grants bail to Sehagal Hossain in ED case

New Delhi [India], October 4 : The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to Sehgal Hossain, the bodyguard of Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal, amid the Enforcement Directorate's investigation into the extensive cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal.
The bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, in an order, passed, stated that the investigations qua the petitioner are complete and the supplementary complaint has been filed in the Court, but the trial has not been proceeding for the last 2 years.
The court said looking at his antecedents, he is not a flight risk, and he has deep roots in society, having been in the employment of the government. The evidence, being essentially documentary, is not likely to be tampered with or the witnesses influenced.
Applicant has been in judicial custody since June 9, 2022, in the scheduled offence, and from October 7, 2022, in the present case, i.e., for over two years. The documents involved in the present case are voluminous and the trial may take a long time to conclude, as was observed in Anubrata Mondal while granting bail to the co-accused. Considering the above-mentioned facts and in the light of the aforesaid discussion, the applicant is admitted to bail, said the court.
The court further noted that the prime accused, Anubrata Mondal, was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court in CBI and by a trial court in the ED case.
Mondal and other accused arrested in the case are accused of alleged involvement in illegal activities linked to the smuggling of cattle across the India-Bangladesh border.