Bengal cattle scam: ED probing from ‘real estate investment’ angle

Kolkata (IANS) | The Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing the multi-crore cattle-smuggling case in West Bengal, is now trying to gather details and information on how the scam got crores of rupees invested in the real estate sector. A source in possession gave this information on Wednesday. The ED has already summoned Subrata Hazra, a private real estate promoter, to its Delhi office for questioning in this regard. Subrata Hazra is a Trinamool Congress strongman and a close confidante of the party’s Birbhum district president Anubrata Mandal.

His wife is also a Trinamool Congress councilor in Bolpur municipality of Birbhum district. The sources also claimed that some specific leads had been received about a major part of the scam’s proceeds in the cattle-scam, which was being invested in real estate projects owned by Hazra.

Meanwhile, Anubrata Mandal’s daughter Sukanya Mandal has defied ED’s summons to appear in Delhi for questioning for the third time. She was supposed to come to Delhi this week and face questioning. However, sources said that she has already sent a message to the ED expressing her inability to appear for questioning due to health reasons.

Sukanya’s father is currently in judicial custody in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for his alleged involvement in the cattle smuggling scam. The ED wants to question Sukanya Mondal about the sources of funds in the two companies where she was a director, as well as the rice mills where she was a partner.

ED sends summons to Sukanya and wants to interrogate her and Anubrata together.

–IANS