Bengal cattle scam: Individuals whose accounts were used to divert proceeds named in ED charge sheet

Kolkata, May 6 (IANS) The names of five individuals, whose personal bank accounts were used to divert the proceeds of the alleged multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal, have been named in the supplementary charge sheet filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) at Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi this week, sources said.

According to the central agency insiders, all five of them were extremely close confidantes of Trinamool Congress strongman and the party's Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal, while some of them were the latter's personal attendant.

"The common thing between the five was that all of them were coming from comparatively weaker financial backgrounds and they used to get a commission for their bank accounts being used for fund diversion purposes," an ED insider said.

The first such name to appear in the list was that of Omar Sheikh. Although currently he is a councillor with Bolpur, Sheikh originally worked as an attendant at Mondal's residence.

The second name on this count is Arka Dutta, currently a primary school teacher, who started his career as a contractual staff with Bolpur Municipality. The third name is that of Bijoy Rajak, who personally worked as a personal masseur of Mondal.

The fourth and fifth names mentioned in the charge sheet are that of Shyamapada Karmakar and Tapas Mondal. While Karmakar's only identity in Birbhum district was that of an active Trinamool Congress worker, Mondal runs a small business of supplying construction materials.

Not just one account but multiple accounts of these five individuals were used in the diversion as evident from inward and outward remittances from there during a particular period of time, sources said.

The charge sheet refers to two companies christened Neer Developer Pvt Ltd and ANM Agrochem Foods, where Sukanya Mondal is one of the directors, and Bholebam Rice Mill, where she is a partner.

Sources said that the ED has traced multiple cash deposits at frequent intervals in amounts slightly less than Rs 50,000 in the different bank accounts held by Sukanya Mondal. This was done to avoid mention of PAN number at times of deposits, since as per banking rules cash deposits worth Rs 50,000 or above mandatorily requires the mention of PAN number of the depositor.