Cattle scam: Court sends Anubrata Mondal's daughter Sukanya to 3-day ED custody

New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) A Delhi court on Thursday sent Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal's daughter Sukanya Mondal -- arrested on Wednesday, to three-day Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam case in West Bengal.

The ED had arrested Sukanya, a primary school teacher in West Bengal's Birbhum district, on Wednesday after quizzing her.

Presented before the bench of Special Judge of Rouse Avenue Court Raghubeer Singh on Thursday, Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana sought Sukanya's custody saying she was required to be confronted with evidence and the co-accused, including her father.

Her custody was also required to trace the proceeds of crime, establish the money trail and the modus operandi, ED said.

The judge then sent her to ED custody till April 30.

On Wednesday, the High Court posted for June 1 Sukanya's father's plea challenging a trial court's order denying him bail in the same case.

Mondal had moved the High Court challenging an order dated January 24 denying him bail.

Earlier, Rana had said that Anubrata's bail application was without any merit.

The ED had arrested Mondal based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Kolkata against Satish Kumar, the then Commandant of Border Security Force.

On December 21, 2022, Mondal moved the High Court challenging issuance of the production warrant by the Rouse Avenue courts in ED's case.

On December 19, Rouse Avenue court permitted the ED to bring him to Delhi.

While Mondal was named in the fourth chargesheet filed by the CBI on October 7 at the Asansol court, Mondal's former bodyguard Sehgal Hossain was arrested on June 10.

According to CBI's third chargesheet filed on August 8, he was one of the kingpins. Hossain is currently lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail.

The CBI suspects that profits from cattle smuggling were used to buy 24 of the 168 land and property deeds executed in or after 2014.

CBI officials claim to have detected Mondal's suspected link to these property deeds. The remaining 144 registration papers bear the names of his relatives, aides and their kin.

Mondal's daughter Sukanya, who is suspected to be among the beneficiaries, was summoned by the ED in November 2022, to its Delhi office.

She is the director of two companies, Neer Developer Pvt Ltd and ANM Agrochem Foods Pvt Ltd, CBI's probe revealed.

The companies have their offices at the same address where Bholebam Rice Mill, which is also owned by her, is located in Birbhum's Bolpur town.