Cattle smuggling: Anubrata granted bail in ED case; likely to return to Birbhum next week

Kolkata: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Friday granted bail to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondal who was in Tihar Jail in connection with the cattle smuggling case in West Bengal.

Mondal, who was the TMC Birbhum district president, was granted bail on a bond of Rs 10 lakh. Earlier, he was granted bail in the CBI case in the Supreme Court. This time, bail has been granted in the ED case as well.

Court sources said he is going to be released from Tihar Jail next week and as a result, is expected to return to Birbhum before Durga Puja. A few days ago, his daughter Sukanya Mandal, who was also lodged in Tihar Jail, got bail.

The Apex Court Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma had granted bail to the TMC leader in July, this year, in the CBI’s case, subject to conditions such as surrender of passport. He was directed to cooperate during the trial and not attempt to influence witnesses.

The Calcutta High Court Bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta had denied the bail, noting that the TMC leader was an influential person who was accused of intimidating witnesses. The court had reasoned that cattle smuggling has a far-reaching impact on the economic and national security of the country. The CBI had claimed that Mondal used his influence to facilitate the crime and received wrongful gains for his patronage.

Mondal was arrested on August 11, 2022 in connection with the case against him for smuggling cattle to Bangladesh by bribing Border Security Force (BSF) personnel. Later, in 2023, ED arrested his daughter in that case.