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TMC alleges misuse of central agencies after leader’s arrest, to hold protests
Anubrata Mondal’s arrest came days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondal was brought to Kolkata in the early hours of Friday after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested him in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam even as the West Bengal’s ruling party planned protests against the alleged misuse of central agencies.
Mondal, who heads TMC in Birbhum, is the first high-profile leader to be arrested in the case. He was arrested from his home in Bolpur on Thursday morning and produced in a special court which sent him to 10-day CBI custody.
Mondal was arrested after he skipped summons for questioning at least 10 times. His arrest came days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former minister Partha Chatterjee and his close aide Arpita Mukherjee in connection with the recruitment scam in government schools. ED has so far recovered around ₹50 crore in cash and gold worth around ₹5 crore from the two.
ED has summoned eight Bengal police officers to New Delhi for questioning in a coal smuggling case this month.
Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stepped up its attack against the TMC. BJP leaders and workers distributed sugar candies and jaggery following Mondal’s arrest. The party’s senior leadership plans to take to the streets in Kolkata against the alleged corruption and involvement of TMC leaders in it.
West Bengal minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said federal agencies were free to act against anyone if the allegations are genuine but they should be impartial. “We are not defending anyone but the agencies should treat all suspects equally. No move has been made against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in the Saradha and Narada cases although he is an accused.”
TMC will hold two-day protests from Friday against the alleged misuse of central agencies.
