Trouble for arrested Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal appears to be mounting, as the CBI Monday conducted a raid at a rice mill owned by one of his close relatives. Notably, the CBI had arrested the heavyweight leader of the TMC from his house in Bolpur, West Bengal, on August 11 in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling case.
Mondal is currently in CBI custody after a special CBI court in Asansol rejected the Trinamool Congress leader’s bail plea in the alleged cattle smuggling scam on August 20, 2022, and extended his custody with the central agency for four days till August 24.
According to reports, the rice mill in the Badhagora area in Birbhum, which was raided by a joint team of the CBI and Food Corporation of India (FCI) belonged to Mondal’s nephew, who is also a local Trinamool Congress leader. The central agency officials allegedly seized a few documents from the mill during the raid.
“Though the rice mill is defunct, we believe links with it and the cattle scam can be found during the investigation process. We are trying to find out whether this mill was run on the money gotten from cattle smuggling,” the CBI official said.
Notably, along with the aforementioned rice mill, the CBI sleuths had also raided a flat belonging to Mondal’s arrested bodyguard Saigal Hossain and even questioned his relatives.
There are at least 10-11 rice mills allegedly owned by Mondal that are being investigated by the CBI. Earlier on Friday, August 19, the CBI raided another rice mill named Bhole Bom Rice Mill allegedly owned by Mondal in connection with the cattle smuggling.
“So, the question is, with the production process being suspended over a long time, what was the actual purpose of keeping these mills open,” said a central agency official.
Interestingly, during the 5-hour-long extensive raid, CBI agents found five high-end cars parked inside the rice mill, one of which bore a West Bengal government sticker.
Car dealer reveals how he was forced to bribe the TMC leader Anubrata Mondal in return for a tender
Further investigation revealed that none of the vehicles was registered in the name of the TMC leader. One of the five vehicles was discovered to be owned by Probir Mondal, a car dealer from Birbhum who, despite his initial reluctance, told News18 how Anubrata Mondal asked him for a bribe of Rs 5 crore and a car to get him a contract for work on the Tilpara Dam.
Despite being paid, the TMC leader quickly increased his demand and threatened to implicate the businessman in a bogus case when the deal fell through, said Probir Mondal.
TMC leader’s custody extended till August 24
Meanwhile, Anubrata Mondal will remain in CBI custody until August 24. This development came after a special CBI court at Bengal’s Asansol on Saturday rejected Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal’s bail plea in the alleged cattle smuggling scam and extended his custody with the central agency for four days till August 24.
While appealing for an extension of the TMC leader’s custody the CBI told the court that since Mondal is a “very powerful and highly influential person” he could “influence witnesses and tamper or manipulate evidence if granted bail”.
The CBI lawyer said that Mondal has been “non-cooperative from the very beginning” despite being issued summons 10 times. The counsel also claimed that Mondal had “pressurised” a doctor to prescribe “complete rest”. “Mr. Mondal has good contact with the state government. He has used his bodyguard Saigal Hossain as a mediator. He used to take money from Enamul Haque. This entire business does not belong to a single man, but it is a chain. There is a conspiracy behind it. Anubrata Mondal has an important role. So he should be in CBI custody,” the CBI lawyer said in the court, after which the court extended his custody with the central agency for four days till August 24.
Incidentally, on Wednesday, 17th August 2022, CBI traced FDs worth approximately Rs 16.97 crores in the name of TMC leader Anubrata Mondal and his family which are now frozen by them.
TMC leader Anubrata Mondal arrested by CBI
Notably, the CBI, in a rather dramatic arrest, picked up the heavyweight leader of Trinamool Congress (TMC) from his house in Bolpur, West Bengal, at around 10 in the morning of August 11 in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling case. As per reports, a team of the CBI went to his residence with the CRPF being deployed outside and arrested Mamata Banerjee’s top aide. The CBI team was accompanied by a team of 100 CRPF personnel, who had surrounded the residence while the CBI officials entered the house and arrested the TMC leader.
