CBI summons Trinamool leader in animal smuggling case
Highlight
- Mandal had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking protection from arrest in the case.
- High Court refused to give him security
- He is currently the district president of the party of Birbhum region.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal for the fifth time in a case of cattle smuggling. Mandal will have to appear before the agency on April 6 at 11 am. He is currently the district president of the party of Birbhum region.
Mandal had approached the Calcutta High Court seeking protection from arrest in the case. The High Court has now refused to grant him protection. Following the order of the Calcutta High Court, the agency called him to join the investigation again. In September 2020, the CBI registered an FIR against the kingpin of the racket, Mohammad Inamul Haque, BSF Commandant Satish Kumar and others in connection with the smuggling of cattle through the Indo-Bangladesh border. In November 2020, Enamul was arrested by the CBI. He was accused of bribing BSF officers to run his illegal cattle smuggling business through the India-Bangladesh border.
The CBI filed the charge sheet accusing Haq of being the kingpin of a cross-border smuggling racket. The CBI, in its investigation, had come to know that Haq was allegedly running a hawala racket worth Rs 1,000 crore. He was paying hefty bribes to BSF officers, an officer was also arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency. Trinamool Congress leader Vinay Mishra and his brother Vikas Mishra are also involved in this case. In March 2021, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested Vikas and attached Vinay’s assets. It was alleged that they were receiving money from Inamul Haque through hawala channel.
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