Court rejects state’s plea for extension of Anubrata Mondal’s police custody

A lower court in West Bengal’s Birbhum district on Tuesday rejected the state police’s plea seeking extension of Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal’s police custody by seven more days in connection with an attempt to murder case. The court not only rejected the plea, but also approved Mondal’s bail prayer against a bail bond of Rs 2,000. However, even after getting bail, Mondal will have to go back to the Asansol special correctional home to continue his judicial custody in connection with his alleged involvement in the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Mondal will have to be present in the same court in the matter again on January 10. On Tuesday, as directed by the court, the state police also handed over the documents and case diary relating to the fresh attempt to murder case to the ED.With this development, speculations have started again over the fresh initiative of ED to take Mondal to Delhi to question him at the agency’s headquarters in connection with the cattle smuggling scam. The fresh case started after a complaint was filed on December 19, just a couple of hours after the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi approved the production warrant allowing ED to take Mondal to the national capital. In the complaint, a former Trinamool Congress panchayat member from Birbhum district accused Mondal of trying to choke him before the Assembly elections in 2021. Based on the FIR , the same lower court had remanded Mondal to seven-day police custody, which jolted the ED’s initiative to take the latter to Delhi. Commenting on the development, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said from the beginning. it was clear that the fresh case was a joint conspiracy by the state police and Trinamool Congress to prevent ED from taking Mondal to Delhi. “But the court’s order denying extension of police custody has foiled the attempts to prolong the process,” he said. Trinamool spokesman Kunal Ghosh refused to make any comment on the development, stating that it is essentially a court matter and it will be unfair to make any comment on it.