West Bengal: TMC leader Anubrata Mandal summoned for third time by CBI in cattle smuggling scam

Kolkata: CBI on Monday once again summoned TMC Birbhum district president Anubrata Mandal in cattle smuggling scam and have asked him to be present before them on March 14.

This is the third time that the central agency had summoned Mandal after he failed to appear before the CBI at their headquarters at Nizam Palace twice.

Citing health issues, Mandal’s lawyer had twice asked for more time from the CBI.

It can be recalled that CBI on February 9 had sent notice to TMC Birbhum district president Mandal and had asked him to be present before them on February 14. After Mandal failed to attend the quizzing, the CBI in their second summon had asked Mandal to visit Nizam Palace on February 25.

It can be recalled that in January the CBI had sent notice to Mandal over his alleged involvement in post-poll violence and also that CBI had evidence against Mandal being instrumental in killing BJP cadre Gaurav Sarkar in Birbhum’s Illambazar.

However, following an appeal to Calcutta High Court, the court had instructed that CBI cannot take any ‘harsh action’ against Mandal without informing the court.

Apart from Mandal, actor-turned-politician and TMC MP Dev (Deepak Adhikari) was also summoned by CBI in cattle smuggling case and had asked him to be present at Nizam Palace on February 15.

The CBI sources claimed that those who are quizzed in regards to this scam had taken Dev’s name and his connection with Bengal-based cattle smuggler Enamul Haque who was recently arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) from the national capital.

Published on: Monday, March 07, 2022, 10:43 PM IST