Cattle smuggling case: TMC leader Anubrata Mondal appears before CBI

Mondal, who has been accused of his involvement in the cattle trafficking across the border in Bangladesh, appeared around 9.40 am at the office of CBI's anti-corruption unit in the city after the probe agency okayed his Wednesday's wishes to face the federal agency investigating the scam.

Mondal's counsels Wednesday e-mailed the CBI office and said the TMC strongman was now fit and agreed to be in the CBI office on Thursday.

Earlier, as many as five times Mondal skipped the summons, including that on Apr 6, when he was admitted to the government-owned SSKM Hospital and spent about 10 days there.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been probing the cattle trafficking scam following a Calcutta High court directive.

The probe agency on Sept 21, 2020, filed a case against BSF commandant Satish Kumar and several others in connection with the unauthorised cattle trade along the India-Bangladesh border. Mohammad Enamul Haque, said to be a kingpin in the scam, was arrested in New Delhi in Nov 2020.

The CBI during interrogation came to know many names in the case and hence Mondal has been summoned by the probe agency.

On Wednesday, the CBI had quizzed West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee over 3 and half hours following an HC directive in another scam of recruitment in the state-aided schools across the state.

Before him, another TMC MLA Paresh Pal, representing the Beliaghata seat in the eastern part of the city, was quizzed by the CBI in relation to post-poll violence.