BOLPUR: Two central law-enforcing agencies—the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED)—swung into action on Thursday by arresting a Trinamool Congress strongman in a cattle smuggling case and summoning eight IPS officers to Delhi in connection with a coal smuggling case.
While the CBI arrested Anubrata Mondal in a dramatic raid involving 100-odd CRPF personnel from his Birbhum residence after he skipped 10 summons issued by the central agency citing ill health, the ED asked eight IPS officers to turn up at their Delhi office on different dates in this month.
The action initiated by the central agencies triggered hue and cry in the camps of opposition parties. Opposition parties held Mondal accused of inciting violence in the district by delivering provocative speeches.
Mandal, who was once a fish vendor and became the party’s district chief, was produced in an Asansol court and the CBI sought his remand in its custody.
"We summoned Mondal 11 times but he turned up only once. He was not cooperating with us in the investigation. We have found his clear involvement in the cattle smuggling case," said a CBI official.
In the wee hours of Thursday, the CRPF personnel surrounded Mondal’s house. Officers of the investigating agency went inside the house, raided rooms and picked up Mondal, who used to say last word in the district on behalf of his party. He was taken to a guest house in Durgapur where his medical examination was conducted.
Mondal’s security guard Saigal Hossain was arrested in the same case recently and the CBI said his asset was disproportionate to his income. Earlier this month, CBI teams raided 13 locations which include the residence of Mondal loyalist Karim Khan and his aide Ziaul Haque. Apart from cash Rs 17 lakh and 10 mobile phones, the central agency recovered pen-drives hard discs and key of a locker.
In connection with a coal smuggling case, in which chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira were interrogated, the ED summoned eight IPS officials, which include senior-level officers, to Delhi. The officers have been specific dates to appear.
"These IPS officers have been summoned for their alleged link in the Coal smuggling scam. These officers were posted where illegal coal mining took place and did not put an effort to stop them. It seems, these officers played crucial roles in the scam and they were benefited from the scam," said an ED official.
Saying the Trinamool Congress has zero tolerance on the issue of corruption, the party’s minister Chandrima Bhattacharya also accused the central agencies of losing their impartial image.
"Law will take its own course against the corrupt politicians. The faces of the CBI and ED have been unmasked and it is clear that they are working at the behest of a political party. The supporters of your youth and students’ wings will stage demonstration against it for two consecutive days from tomorrow across the state," she alleged.