The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the bail plea of Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal, who was arrested in connection with an alleged cattle-smuggling case.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi issued notice to the agency and sought its reply on the plea.
Previously in January this year, the Calcutta High Court had rejected Mondal’s bail plea. Mondal, who is the Birbhum district president of the ruling TMC in West Bengal, prayed for bail, submitting that he has been in custody for over 145 days in connection with the case.
The CBI opposed the prayer, claiming that he may derail the investigation into the cattle smuggling case by trying to influence witnesses being probed by it.
Therefore, the CBI claimed that Mondal, using his political clout, was the main facilitator for smooth transportation of cattle through Birbhum district for smuggling them to Bangladesh. The counsel for Mondal stated that no such evidence has been found.
