The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday froze the fixed deposits of Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal and his family totalling about ₹16.97 crore in connection with a cross-border cattle smuggling scam.
Mr. Mondal, the president of the Trinamool Birbhum district unit, was arrested on August 11 in connection with the scam.
As the investigation into the scam is gathering pace, the agency is looking at the properties and assets of relatives and people close to the influential Trinamool leader.
During the day, the CBI officials questioned an accountant of Mr. Mondal after which CBI officials went to a nationalised bank in Bolpur and seized the fixed deposits. “The CBI has traced fixed deposits amounting to ₹16.97 crore(approx.) in the name of Shri Anubrata Mondal and his family members during further investigation of a case related to alleged illegal cross- border trade of cattle,” a statement by the agency said.
The CBI officials also approached Mr. Mondal’s daughter, Sukanya Mondal, after it found out some properties in her name.
In another development, the Calcutta High Court directed Mr. Mondal’s daughter and five others, including his relatives, to appear before the court. The summons was in connection with a petition, which alleged that Ms. Mondal and others in the family had got jobs as primary teachers in the State-run schools without clearing the entrance examination.
The petitioner has also alleged that Ms. Mondal had not attended school over the past few years despite drawing salaries.
The irregularities in the School Service Commission recruitment have also surfaced as a major scam. Former Minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after cash amounting to ₹50 crore and several kilograms of gold jewellery were seized from the residence of his aide Arpita Mukherjee.
