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Cattle smuggling: Jailed TMC leader Anubrata moves Calcutta HC for bail

TMC strongman Anubrata Mandal (file photo)

Jailed Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal on Wednesday approached the Calcutta High Court, seeking bail in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case.

Mondal, the TMC president of Birbhum, is being investigated by two central agencies – the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

While the CBI is probing his role in cattle smuggling to Bangladesh through the porous India-Bangladesh border, the ED is following the trail of transactions by the accused involved.

The ED is planning to take Mondal to its headquarters in New Delhi for questioning.

Several bail applications filed by his lawyers have been turned down by the special court.

Meanwhile, the financial probe agency has filed a petition before Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court for Mondal’s remand.

The Delhi High Court will hear a petition filed by the TMC leader against his arrest on Thursday, December 1.

The cattle smuggling came into the limelight through a CBI investigation in the West Bengal border area that stretches through 2,216 kms.

During its investigation, the CBI found many documents that establish Mondal’s direct link with the sensational case on Bengal’s Indo-Bangladesh border.

It also learnt that Mondal’s daughter had amassed assets such as houses, lands and multiple bank accounts. The Bureau also found multiple joint accounts of Mondal and his daughter along with joint properties. The agency suspects that Mondal’s daughter’s bank accounts were used for financial transactions.

Cattle that are priced at anything between ₹50,000 to ₹80,000 in Bangladesh are smuggled from India, whereas they are bought at a much lesser price. Smugglers, racketeers, and also people having political linkages are under the CBI scanner in this case.

Smugglers, racketeers, and also people having political linkages are under the CBI scanner in this case.

On August 11, Mondal was dramatically detained by the CBI from his residence for questioning in the cattle smuggling case. Later, he was arrested by the probe agency.

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