Cattle smuggling case: ED arrests jailed TMC strongman Anubrata Mondal's close aide Manish Kothari

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested jailed Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Anubrata Mondal's chartered accountant Manish Kothari after his day-long questioning in connection with the West Bengal cattle smuggling case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested jailed Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Anubrata Mondal's chartered accountant Manish Kothari after his day-long questioning in connection with the West Bengal cattle smuggling case. A close aide of Mondal, Kothari was arrested by the ED after his questioning at the ED headquarters here for nearly 10 hours, said sources.

Kothari is expected to be produced before a special court here on Wednesday afternoon by the ED sleuths, who arrested him as they were not satisfied with the answers of the chartered accountant and found some evidence against him in the matter. The economic intelligence agency is also learnt to have planned to question Mondal's daughter, Sukanya and 10 other people in the case in the coming days.

After arresting the Birbhum TMC president on August 12, last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned and questioned Sukanya Mondal in its Delhi headquarters a few months ago. However, according to sources, she did not disclose much to the CBI at that time. After the CBI, the ED arrested the TMC strongman in the cattle smuggling case. The TMC leader is facing ED probe in the alleged money laundering case related to West Bengal's cattle smuggling case.

Enamul Hoque, who is the kingpin in the cattle smuggling case and Saigal Hussain, Mondal's bodyguard, are in Tihar jail right now and the ED is planning to question them as well. Mondal was picked up by the CBI on August 12 from his Bolpur residence after the central probe agency said it had found his direct involvement in the cattle smuggling scam. The TMC leader's name came up in the cattle smuggling scam case after the CBI registered an FIR in 2020.

As per CBI investigation, over 20,000 cattle heads were seized by the Border Security Force (BSF) between 2015 and 2017 as they were being smuggled across the border. (ANI)

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