The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday conducted a raid and search operations at the residences of Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal's chartered accountant, a councilor of Bolpur Municipality, and a local businessman in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam. At around 10 a.m. after a marathon questioning for around two hours, the CBI sleuths also detained Bishwajyoti Bandopadhyay, the councilor of Ward Number 19 of Bolpur Municipality.
The CBI also raided the residences of Manish Kothari, Mondal's personal chartered accountant, and Sudip Roy, the Bolpur-based local businessman. "Immediately after Mondal's arrest, we came to know of two rice mills in Bolpur owned by his daughter, Sukanya Mondal. We also identified two shell companies namely ANM Agrochem Foods Pvt Ltd and Neer Developer Pvt Ltd, with Sukanya as one of the directors. On these preliminary findings, such raid and search operations are being conducted and the persons concerned are being questioned," a CBI source said.
It is learned that CBI sleuths have also identified several properties registered in the names of Anubrata Mondal's late wife Chobi Mondal and his bodyguard, Sehgal Hosssian. "Sources of funds for the purchase of such properties are highly fictitious," the source said. The central agency sleuths have already confiscated bank fixed deposits worth Rs 16.97 crore held by Anubrata Mondal and his family.
CBI teams reached Bolpur late Tuesday night escorted by a huge contingent of central armed forces. Sources said that the detained councilor was extremely close to Anubrata Mondal and oversaw the Trinamool Congress's organizational network in the Birbhum district. The agency sleuths suspect that he could provide them with crucial links related to the cattle smuggling scam.
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