Cattle scam: Mondal's grilling to be videographed by ED

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will video-record the entire interrogation of Trinamool Congress strongman and the party's Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal.

Mondal will be in the ED custody till March 10, following which he will be presented at the Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi and the central agency sources said that during these 48 hours, their sleuths want to make as much progress as possible about the course of interrogation.

"Statements given by Mondal in face of interrogation will be crucial for the agency's counsel to present his argument at the court on March 10 by virtue of which a prayer might be made for further extension of his custody. Hence, in that process video-recording of the entire interrogation process will become crucial.

It is learnt that the team of six top officials of ED in the ranks and special directors and additional directors has been constituted for the purpose of Mondal's interrogation for the next 48 hours. The team will be led by ED's special director Sonia Narang, a 2002- batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Karnataka cadre, source said.

It is learnt that the ED officers will corroborate the statement given by the Mondal in the next 48 hours with the statements given by others questioned earlier in connection with the scam like Mondal's bodyguard Sehgal Hossain, his chartered accountant Manish Kothari, Border Security Force (BSF) commandant Satish Kumar and most importantly the scam kingpin Enamul Haque.

"He might be questioned about the skyrocketing increase in the assets and properties of his family during the last few years as per the documents related to their respective income tax returns," an ED source said and added that the huge cash payments made by Mondal and his family members while purchasing plots of land in Birbhum district are specially under the scanner of the central agency sleuths.

Meanwhile, clear indications are there that Trinamool Congress leadership has started the process of totally disassociating itself from Mondal.