Supreme Court Seeks CBI’s Take on Bail Plea of TMC Leader Anubrata Mondal Amidst Cattle Smuggling Allegations
Anubrata Mondal, a TMC leader, was arrested on August 11 of the previous year due to allegations of smuggling cattle to Bangladesh by reportedly bribing Border Security Force (BSF) personnel. The Supreme Court is now seeking a response from the CBI on Mondal’s bail plea.
A High Court bench, consisting of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Ajay Kumar Gupta, pointed out that the TMC leader is an “influential” individual and has been accused of “intimidating witnesses.”
According to the prosecution, the main accused, one Md Enamul Haque, along with his associates, allegedly
“conspired along with BSF personnel and customs officials to illegally smuggle cattle to Bangladesh.”
The allegations further claim that to facilitate the movement of cattle through the districts of Birbhum and Murshidabad, Haque had secured “illegal favours” from Mondal, described as a ‘powerful political satrap.’ The CBI has asserted that Mondal utilized his influence to “facilitate the crime” and garnered “wrongful gains for his patronage.”
In its rationale for denying Mondal’s bail, the High Court stated that
“illegal cattle smuggling has a far-reaching impact on the economic and national security of the country.”
Beyond this case, the High Court also highlighted that a
“production warrant had been issued against Mondal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering case registered against him in New Delhi.”