Earlier, he was in CBI custody till August 20 and his lawyer had urged the court to grant bail citing leader’s poor health.
Kolkata: A CBI court has sent arrested Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal to custody for four more days in connection with a cattle smuggling case. The leader was arrested by the investigation agency on August 12 after charges of cross border smuggling of cattle. He was picked up after finding his direct involvement in the smuggling scam.
Earlier, he was in CBI custody till August 20 and his lawyer had urged the court to grant bail citing the leader’s poor health. The CBI said in the court that the leader is a powerful person in his area and granting him bail will affect the ongoing probe.
On August 11, the CBI had arrested Mondal for ‘non-cooperation in probe’ in a case related to cattle smuggling. Earlier, the TMC leader had skipped his scheduled appearances before the investigation agency on two occasions in the recent past following his arrest. The arrested leader, however, had claimed his ill-health is the reason behind skipping his appearance.
The CBI had arrested Mondal from his residence in West Bengal’s Bolpur after a long interrogation by its team early morning. “Anubrata Mondal has been arrested for non-cooperation in the investigation related to the cattle smuggling scam. We have found his direct involvement in the scam.
On April 23, the anti-corruption branch of the CBI had Mondal to appear at 5:30 pm in connection with a cattle smuggling case. The TMC leader was summoned by the agency moments after he was discharged from the SSKM Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata after reports of a prolonged treatment.
Mondal was admitted to the hospital by complaining of breathlessness after the CBI issued summons to him. According to sources, CBI officials had paid him a visit at the hospital to ascertain his health condition as Mondal had sought from the CBI four weeks’ time to appear before the central agency in connection with questioning over his alleged involvement in cattle smuggling in Birbhum district.
The CBI had on September 21 last year filed a case against Border Security Force (BSF) commandant Satish Kumar and several others in connection with illegal cattle trade along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal which was taking place allegedly in connivance with public servants. During the investigation, Mondol’s name had cropped up.
