Cattle scam: CBI grills businessman close to Anubrata Mondal

KOLKATA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials probing the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam on Tuesday grilled Sanjib Majumdar, a Bolpur-based businessman and a close associate of Trinamool Congress strongman and the party's Birbhum district president, Anubrata Mondal.

CBI officials summoned Majumdar at the agency's temporary camp office at Bolpur on Tuesday morning and questioned him for over five hours.

CBI sources said they have got definite clues that Majumdar, an original resident of Ahmadpur in Birbhum district, had played a key role in transfer of several properties in the names of Mondal and his close relatives.

He was also associated with a number of rice mills and companies owned by the family members of the Trinamool Congress district president.

CBI sources said that hailing from an extremely humble financial background, Majumdar's business flourished miraculously during the last four to five years. He was also active in the political activities of the state's ruling party in Birbhum district as a close associate of Anubrata Mondal.

On October 7, CBI submitted a fresh chargesheet in the cattle smuggling scam at a vacation court at Asansol in West Burdwan district. In the chargesheet, Modal for the first time had been named as a direct beneficiary of the scam.

In the chargesheet, CBI has mentioned fixed deposits worth Rs 18 crore in the names of Mondal, his daughter Sukanya Mondal, his deceased wife, late Chobi Mondal and some of his close family relations.

Besides the fixed deposits, the chargesheet also has references of details of some other savings bank accounts as well as 53 other documents related to movable property of the Mondal family.

In the chargesheet, CBI has named actress-turned-politician and three-time Trinamool Congress member, Satabdi Roy as a witness.