The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mondal in an alleged cattle smuggling case with various conditions, including not influencing witnesses. A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma imposed several conditions on Mondal while granting bail.
The apex court further directed Mondal to surrender his passport and cooperate fully in the ongoing trial. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Mondal, pointed out that his client had been behind bars for two years while other co-accused in the case had already secured bail.
Mondal filed a petition through his advocate on record, Lzafeer Ahmad BF, challenging a Calcutta High Court order that had earlier rejected his bail plea. Mondal was apprehended by the CBI in August 2022. The CBI’s investigation, following the arrest of a former Border Security Force (BSF) commandant, revealed the smuggling of over 20,000 cattle heads across the India-Bangladesh border between 2015 and 2017.
Sources indicated that Mondal’s name surfaced during the probe, drawing scrutiny towards him. Besides Mondal, those arrested included his daughter Sukanya, his former bodyguards Sehgal and Enamul Haque, and BSF commandant Satish Kumar. Mondal, known to be a close aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was arrested by the CBI in July 2022.
