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CBI quizzes Anubrata Mondal in cattle smuggling case
The CBI started questioning TMC leader Anubrata Mondol on Friday, a day after he was arrested in the cattle smuggling case, officials close to the development said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) started questioning Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondol on Friday, a day after he was arrested in the cattle smuggling case, officials close to the development said.
Mondol, the first TMC leader to be arrested in connection with the case, was brought to Kolkata in the early hours of Friday after a special CBI court at Asansol sent him to 10 days of CBI custody.
“The mobile call detail records of Mondol’s bodyguard Sehgal Hossain have revealed that he was in regular touch with cow traders, including Muhammad Enamul Haque, Anarul Sheikh, Abdul Latif and Muhammad Gulam Mustafa,” said a CBI official.
Sleuths suspect that the prime suspects of the case remained in touch with Mondol through Hossain. Mondol would be confronted with these call details, said another CBI official. Hossain was arrested by the CBI on June 10 and is currently in the custody.
As Mondol reached the CBI office in Kolkata around 2:45 am on Friday, he was allowed to take a rest due to multiple chronic ailments. In the afternoon, he was taken to the Command Hospital for an hour-long examination, following which he was brought back to the CBI’s office at Nizam Palace. The interrogation started around 5:30 pm, the official said.
“During the day, Mondol wanted to speak to his daughter. He was allowed to speak with her over a mobile phone with its speaker kept on. When an assistant close to him came to fix his nebulizer, he asked her about the public reaction and what the TMC party was thinking,” said a CBI official.
Officials further said that Mondol would also be questioned about the huge property, worth more than ₹100 crore, registered in the name of Hossain and his family members. Mondol’s daughter also allegedly has huge property registered in her name.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up their attack against the Mamata Banerjee administration by taking out rallies to protest against the alleged widespread corruption and purported involvement of the TMC leaders.
While BJP leaders and workers were seen distributing sugar candy and jaggery to people in several areas, the party’s senior leadership hit the streets in Kolkata and other districts. Rallies were organised, drums were beaten, and BJP workers shouted ‘goru chor goru chor’ (cattle thief, cattle thief) slogans. At Onda, in Bankura, BJP workers brought a cow in a rally with a placard reading ‘cattle thief’ written on it.
“More wickets are likely to fall. In future, Mamata Banerjee might have to hold her government’s cabinet meetings and the party’s state-level meetings in jails as the entire party is corrupt, and all leaders will meet the same fate as that of Chatterjee and Mondol. The TMC has been unmasked,” said Dilip Ghosh, BJP’s national vice president.
The TMC launched a counterattack against the alleged misuse of central agencies by the BJP-led Union government. The party’s youth wing began a two-day protest starting Friday, and rallies were also organised in the Birbhum district.
West Bengal minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI are free to take action against anyone if the allegations are genuine, but the agencies should be impartial. “We are not defending anyone, but the agencies should treat all suspects equally. No move has been made against the BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in the Saradha and Narada cases, although he is an accused.”
