Trinamool Leader's Daughter Arrested On Money Laundering Charges

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested TMC leader Anubrata Mondal's daughter Sukanya Mondal on money laundering charges linked to an alleged cattle smuggling case, official sources said.

She was taken into custody under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following her questioning, they said.

A primary school teacher in West Bengal's Birbhum district, Sukanya Mondal is expected to be produced before a local court on Thursday where the federal agency will seek her further custody. She has been interrogated by the ED a few times in the past as well.

Anubrata Mondal, the Birbhum district president of the TMC, was arrested by the CBI for his alleged involvement in cattle smuggling and was also named in the charge sheet. He was subsequently arrested by the ED too. 

The ED in December attached 32 properties worth more than Rs 1.58 crore belonging to Sehegal Hossain, his former bodyguard and stated to be his "close confidant".

It had said Hossain was a "close confidant of Anubrata Mondal and one of the prominent members of this whole smuggling racket operating across the India-Bangladesh border." 

Hossain, prime accused in the case, Enamul Haque and a Border Security Force (BSF) commandant rank officer (of the 36th BSF battalion) Satish Kumar were also arrested by the ED in this case.

Satish Kumar, who was posted at Murshidabad and Malda regions of West Bengal as part of the BSF security grid along the international border, was earlier arrested by the CBI in connection with the cattle smuggling case.

The ED filed a criminal case against the accused in September, 2020, taking cognisance of this CBI complaint.

The agency (ED) has filed two charge sheets in this case till now and has attached total assets worth Rs 20.25 crore as part of seven provisional attachment orders.

Its charge sheet (also known as prosecution complaint), filed before a Delhi court in April, named Haque, TMC leader Vinay Mishra, his brother Vikas Mishra (arrested by the ED in another money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal) and companies related to these individuals -- Hoque Industries Pvt. Ltd., Hoque Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. and Anant Tradecom Pvt. Ltd. -- as accused in the case.

"The total proceeds of crime ascertained in this case, till date, is Rs 29.43 crore," the ED had said. 

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