CBI arrests TMC leader Anubrata Mondal’s guard in cattle smuggling case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Saigal Hossain, a close assistant to Trinamool Congress politician Anubrata Mondal, on Thursday in connection with a livestock smuggling case.

Mr. Hossain was arrested in the evening after being questioned for several hours by the central agency at its office in the city’s Nijam Palace. Mr. Hossain’s home in Murshidabad district was also searched by the authorities. On Friday, he is expected to appear in court in Asansol.

Hossain, a state police policeman, could not explain his money and properties, according to CBI sources. According to the agency, Hossain, Mondal’s chief security officer, used to answer the phone for Enamul Haque, the main suspect in the livestock smuggling case. According to agency sources, Hossain and Haque exchanged several phone calls.

The CBI had already searched Hossain’s homes in Murshidabad, at Domkal and Jalangi. Investigators have cause to assume that by supporting livestock smuggling rackets, Hossain collected a large sum of money. They’re also looking into how much money he made after joining Mondal’s security team in 2012.

The investigators were able to acquire several sale documents that were allegedly used to legitimise the disposal of animals that he had purchased at a Customs auction.

TMC heavyweight Anubrata Mondal was questioned by the agency last month. It filed a complaint against BSF commandant Satish Kumar and several others in West Bengal in September 2020 in connection with illegal cattle trade along the India-Bangladesh border. Mr. Kumar and another suspect, Enamul Haque, were taken into custody.

Further Investigation is going on.