Explained: The cattle smuggling scam, which led to the arrest of Anubrata Mondal, Mamata’s Birbhum ‘Bahubali’

First Partha Partha Chatterjee, now Anubrata Mondal. The arrest of two Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongmen has left Mamata Banerjee’s party red-faced.

On Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Mondal in connection with the ongoing probe into the cross-border cattle smuggling case after he failed to appear for questioning twice in three days.

Also read: Who is Anubrata Mondal, Mamata Banerjee's strongman, arrested in cattle smuggling case?

The TMC’s Birbhum district president reportedly ignored ten summons by the probe agency. The team of CBI and central armed personnel reached Mondal’s residence in West Bengal’s Bholpur on Wednesday at 9.50 am.

CBI arrests TMC Birbhum district chief Anubrata Mondal in connection with cattle smuggling case

Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/iEA0zC0aZ0#CBI #TMC #anubratamondal #CattleSmuggling #CBIArrestsAnubrataMondal pic.twitter.com/wPvVPcmjcf

— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) August 11, 2022

A close aide of Mamata known popularly as the “Bahubali” of Birbhum, Mondal, was arrested after almost an hour-long interrogation by the CBI team. “We have arrested him for non-cooperation in the investigation into the cattle smuggling scam,” an official told news agency PTI.

What is the case? And what is Mondal’s role in it? We take a look.

The cattle smuggling scam

The racket involves the smuggling of thousands of cattle from West Bengal to neighbouring Bangladesh through the state’s border. The big breeds of cattle from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and the smaller ones from West Bengal are smuggled and they cost anywhere between Rs 90,000 to Rs 40,000. The cattle from the northern states go at a higher price compared to the ones from Bengal.

Once the cattle are seized by the Border Security Force (BSF), they are expected to make a seizure memo. However, the CBI said that it found discrepancies in these documents. The animals were shown smaller than their actual size and this reduced their value at the auctions conducted by the force along with Customs officials, reports The Indian Express.

Only selected traders, with an alleged nexus with BSF and Customs, would be allowed to buy the cattle at low prices at the auctions. Once the purchase was made, the cattle would be smuggled into Bangladesh by the same traders, according to the report.
For every cattle sold, the smuggler Enamul Haque would pay Rs 2,000 to BSF officials and Rs 500 to Customs officials. The corrupt BSF personnel would also take a percentage cut from the bidders, the newspaper report says.

The accused in the case

The case first came to light in 2018 after JD Mathew, who served as BSF commandant in Bengal, was booked in Kerala.

In September 2021, the CBI registered an FIR against six persons including Satish Kumar, a BSF commandant in the South Bengal Frontier of the BSF in 2016 and 2017, the kingpin Enamul Haque and smugglers Anarul Sheikh, Md Gulam Mustafa, Anarul Sheikh, and Md Golam Mustafa.

Raids were carried out by CBI in 15 cities and towns in West Bengal as well as Uttar Pradesh. Properties belonging to Kumar were sealed.

According to the FIR, during Kumar’s posting, the BSF seized more than 20,000 cattle but vehicles carrying them were not seized and those involved were not apprehended.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Haque in February and Satish Kumar in April.

The investigation also revealed a nexus between the BSF officers, smugglers, Bengal Police and political leaders.

In a charge sheet filed by the ED, apart from Haque, TMC youth leader Vinay Mishra and his brother Vikas Mishra are also named as accused in the case.

The Mondal connection

Mondal’s name appeared in the case after the arrest of Kumar.

The CBI arrested Mondal’s bodyguard Saigal Hossain in June after a prolonged interrogation related to the cattle smuggling case. The probe agency official said that Hossain could not provide any satisfactory explanation for the huge assets he owned. Records showed several calls between Enamul Haque and Hossian.

The investigation revealed that Mondal too was in touch with the prime accused Haque.

Cattle smuggling case | A team of CBI arrives at the residence of TMC Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal in Bolpur. #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/nqRaukoOBc

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2022

The TMC leader had earlier appeared before the CBI at its Kolkata office twice but was evading repeated summons in connection with the agency’s ongoing probe.

According to CBI sources, he will be taken straight to taken to some central government health facility in Asansol before he is produced in court. Mondal suffers from hypoxia for which he carries oxygen with him.

Mamata left red-faced

Mondal is a founding member of the TMC in Birbhum and is known as the West Bengal chief minister’s “Bahubali”. He is also fondly called “Kesto Da” by his supporters and if locals are to be believed he holds immense clout; nothing happens in the district without his nod.

He has been credited for popularising the TMC slogan “khela hobe”, which dominated the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election that saw the party defeating the BJP, according to a report in News18.

After Mondal’s arrest, the TMC finds itself in damage-control mode. “I found out today that Anubrata Mondal has been arrested by the CBI. It’s a sensitive matter. Only the (party) spokesman is authorised to comment.”

“The CM has said that corruption wouldn’t be supported. That’s been proved as Partha Chatterjee has been ousted,” TMC’s Madan Mitra has said.

With inputs from agencies

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