ASANSOL: A special CBI court here on Saturday rejected Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal's bail plea in the alleged cattle smuggling scam and extended his custody with the central agency for four days till August 24.
Describing Mondal as a "very powerful and highly influential person", the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appealed for an extension of the TMC leader's custody stating that he could "influence witnesses and tamper or manipulate evidence if granted bail".
The TMC Birbhum district president's counsel had appealed for bail citing his "health condition".
His counsel also claimed that the amount in fixed deposits found by the CBI detectives were the money which Mondal got from life insurance policies following his wife's death.
The CBI lawyer said that Mondal has been "non-cooperative from the very beginning" despite being issued summonses 10 times.
The counsel also claimed that Mondal had "pressurised" a doctor to prescribe "complete rest".
"Mr. Mondal has good contact with the state government. He has used his bodyguard Saigal Hossain as a mediator. He used to take money from Enamul Haque. This entire business does not belong to a single man, but it is a chain. There is a conspiracy behind it. Anubrata Mondal has an important role. So he should be in CBI custody," the CBI lawyer said in the court.
In an earlier charge sheet submitted before the Special Court, Asansol, the CBI had alleged that Haque was the organiser of this illegal trade and was assisted by others.
Mondal was arrested from his home in Bolpur, Birbhum district, on August 11 by the CBI in connection with its investigation into the alleged cattle smuggling scam.
Earlier in the day, Mondal denied allegations of his non-cooperation with the central investigating agency, saying he has been cooperating with the CBI in the ongoing probe into the cattle smuggling scam.
Mondal, while being taken out of the CBI's Kolkata office, also rubbished claims of the investigating agency about his owing properties worth several crores registered in different names.
"I have always cooperated with CBI officers. And I do not have any property registered in any other name," Mondal told reporters.
CBI officers have claimed that Mondal has been not cooperating with them whenever he is being interrogated.
The Special CBI court here had earlier ordered Mondal to be held in custody till August 20.
Meanwhile, the CBI sleuths had found six vehicles on the campus of a rice mill they had raided on Friday.
They were looking into the ownership of the high-end vehicles parked inside the premises of the mill and trying to find out whether the vehicles were used in cattle smuggling activities.
The raid was conducted at a rice mill in Bolpur allegedly owned by Mondal as a part of the ongoing probe into the alleged cattle smuggling scam, the CBI had said.
The CBI on Saturday conducted a raid at one rice mill here allegedly owned by arrested Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal as a part of its ongoing probe into the alleged cattle smuggling scam, a senior officer said.
During the raid, the CBI sleuths found several high-end vehicles parked inside the premises of the mill, he said, adding that the ownership of the vehicles is "being looked into".
Asked why the rice mill here in Birbhum district was raided, the officer said that the agency was trying to find out how the Trinamool Congress' Birbhum district president got the money to purchase it.
"The rice mill was purchased by Mr Mondal in 2017. The rice mill has been mentioned as the address of several other offices belonging to him, his daughter and his late wife. We are trying to find out certain other things which may have links to the cattle scam," the officer told PTI.
The CBI sleuths, who were made to wait outside the rice mill for over half an hour by the security guards, are planning to conduct raids in different places in the district in connection with their ongoing probe.
Mondal was arrested by the CBI on August 11 in connection with a cattle smuggling case.
The party on Friday condemned the CBI raids at Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's residence, and alleged that such moves are a part of the BJP's designs to intimidate the opposition across the country.
The CBI on Friday carried out searches at the residences of Manish Sisodia and IAS officer Arava Gopi Krishna, and 19 other locations, after registering an FIR for alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought out in November last year.
Sisodia has maintained that conspiracies will not break him nor deter his resolve to continue to work for good education.
"The raids are an attempt to intimidate and threaten the opposition. Manish Sisodia is the deputy chief minister of Delhi, and the central agencies are trying to harass him on the orders of their political masters. The BJP is doing the same thing in all the opposition-ruled states," senior TMC leader and MP Sougata Roy said.
TMC MP Santanu Sen claimed that the central probe agencies are "silent" when it comes to taking action against those BJP leaders who face allegations of corruption.
The ruling party in West Bengal has been rocked by the recent arrests of former minister Partha Chatterjee in connection with a school jobs scam, and Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal in an alleged cattle scam - by the ED and CBI, respectively.