West Bengal cattle smuggling scam: CBI questions TMC leader Anubrata Mondal in Asansol jail
Nov 05, 2022
Asansol (West Bengal) [India], November 5 : A team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials on Saturday questioned Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal.
The team of CBI officials questioned Mondal in the scam after reaching Asansol jail in West Burdwan district on Saturday.
The CBI had arrested TMC's Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal from his residence in Bolpur in connection with the cattle smuggling scam on August 11 and subsequently he was lodged in the jail.
Recently, the CBI submitted a fresh chargesheet in a special court in Asansol whereby the agency named TMC heavyweight Anubrata Mondal as the direct beneficiary of the cattle scam. The CBI also underlined the details of his and his family members' huge assets and property in the charge sheet.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate questioned his daughter Sukanya Mondal for nearly nine hours in connection with the cattle smuggling scam.
Sukanya had reached the ED headquarters in New Delhi at around 10 am following summons of the federal agency to face questioning and left around 7 pm on November 2.
The investigating officer recorded her statement during the questioning over various points like chain of shell entities used in the process of fund diversion as well as the money reportedly transferred to the accounts of those entities who are the at rudimentary level of the chain.
The move comes days after a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi remanded Anubrata Mondal's personal security guard Saigal Hussain to seven days of ED custody after his arrest on October 7 in connection with the case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on September 21, 2020, arrested a former Border Security Force (BSF) Commandant, in connection with an illegal cattle smuggling case across the Indo-Bangladesh border. Anubrata Mondal's name came under the CBI scanner during the investigation of the case, the agency had said.
The main office of the JHM Group in West Bengal's Bentinck street, which belonged to the nephews of Enamul Haque namely Humayun Kabir, Jahangir Alam, and Mehedi Hasan, was also raided in connection with the cattle smuggling case, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) informed.
Enamul Haque was arrested by the ED on February 18 and is currently in judicial custody. The total attachment in this case has reached Rs 11.67 crore. Proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 418 crore till now were identified by the ED.
