CBI Arrests TMC leader Anubrata Mondal after he skips 10 summons in Cattle Smuggling Case

In a massive development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondal after he repeatedly skipped the summons of the agency in connection with the cattle smuggling scam. A team of the CBI is said to have entered his residence at around 10 AM on Thursday with the CRPF being deployed outside. 

His arrest comes after the top aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to appear before the agency and chose to skip the CBI summons for the 10th consecutive time on Wednesday. Sources told Republic Bangla that Mondal's lawyers were seen entering the CBI office on August 10 and seeking a 14-day extension for Mondal. 

Notably, the senior Trinamool Congress leader had raked up 'ill health' to skip his 9th summons on Monday. He had driven to the State-run SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for treatment and was examined by a seven-member medical team but doctors categorically said that there was no need for his admission to the super-speciality facility.

Mondal, the TMC’s Birbhum district president, had even sent an email expressing his inability to appear before the central probe agency, due to the medical check-up. However, after SSKM refused to admit him, the CBI issued a fresh summon to him for Wednesday, August 10. The massive drama also erupted at the hospital when some people shouted at the TMC leader calling him a “cattle thief". He was greeted with 'chor chor' slogans at the Kolkata hospital. Anubrata Mondal has earlier been questioned twice by the central agency as part of its investigation.

Cattle smuggling scam

On 21 September 2020, the CBI filed a case against Border Security Force (BSF) commandant Satish Kumar and several others in connection with illegal cattle smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, which was taking place allegedly in connivance with public servants.

The alleged kingpin of the racket, Mohammad Enamul Haque, was arrested in New Delhi in November 2020. According to the FIR, cattle were being smuggled from India to Bangladesh by miscreants who were allegedly paying money to BSF personnel manning the International Border. The smugglers named in the case allegedly paid 10% of the auction price from successful bidders to accused Customs officials, the CBI's FIR said.