CBI scan on assets of Anubrata and his bodyguard

According to investigators Saigal Hossain had spoken on several occasions between 2016 and 2017 to Enamul Haque, the alleged kingpin of a cattle smuggling racket

Anubrata Mondal: Telegraph Picture

Kinsuk Basu   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |    17.08.22  : The CBI has begun scanning property deals of arrested Trinamul Congress leader Anubrata Mondal and his bodyguard Saigal Hossain as part of its probe in a cattle smuggling case, said sources in the agency.

Investigators said they had evidence to suggest that Hossain had spoken on several occasions between 2016 and 2017 to Enamul Haque, the alleged kingpin of a cattle smuggling racket. “Call record details available with the agency suggest Haque would also speak to Abdul Laitif, who is believed to be the middleman between the kingpin and Hossain,” said a source in the CBI.

Mondal told interrogators that he had no links with Haque and didn’t know anyone by the name of Latif.

Senior officials said there was no plausible reason as to why a constable of Bengal police — posted as Mondal’s guard — would have to call someone who was believed to be the kingpin of the cattle smuggling racket spanning states.

 “We are trying to find out where the proceeds of crime (the money) have been parked. Hossain’s property details provide some clues. But there are many other strands that have to be looked into,” said a senior CBI official.

Following Hossain’s arrest on June 9, sources in the CBI said, they have found several property documents that suggest the bodyguard is the owner of several apartments, petrol pumps, land parcels and dumpers across the state. The cumulative worth of the moveable and immoveable assets would be allegedly over Rs 100 crore, officials said.

CBI officials said Mondal and his daughter Sukanya had purchased several plots of land in Birbhum in 2021 but the source of the money had not been reflected in the bank statements.

“We will question Hossain and Mondal’s daughter soon for some clarity,” the official said.

“The bank account details, including a few joint ones of the father and the daughter, are not revealing the exact extent of the family’s collective income. Mondal has been evading most questions.”