‘Fake bills’, a missing partner and TMC leader’s guard in new CBI chargesheet

The case has political implications with Mondal, who was arrested on August 11, denying the charges and the TMC describing the probe as a move by the Centre to target its leaders. The CBI’s arrest of Mondal on August 11 came days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided premises linked to former TMC minister Partha Chatterjee and associates in the alleged school jobs scam and claimed to have recovered over Rs 40 crore in cash.

According to the latest chargesheet in the cattle-smuggling case, the CBI started connecting the dots after seizing the handwritten diary of an employee of Mohammad Enamul Haque. Haque has been described as the “kingpin” and was arrested in February this year by ED, which is also probing the case — he was arrested by the CBI in November 2020.

The diary of the employee, identified as Manoj Sinha, “revealed” that “various amounts were paid to one Anal on different dates”, the agency states.

“Anal was an employee” of Haque and “used to work under (the) direct supervision of Sheikh Abdul Latif, partner of Md Enamul Haque,” the CBI states in the chargesheet. The partner Latif, it states, allegedly managed the operation, including “political leaders protection and patronage”. Latif is absconding.

According to the chargesheet, the role of the employee Anal was to procure cattle from local “pashu haats” (cattle markets) in Birbhum and “transport” them to “earmarked areas of Murshidabad nearing international border of India-Bangladesh”.

“From these dedicated places in Murshidabad, the cattle was then smuggled to Bangladesh through the riverine border of India-Bangladesh due to active nexus of BSF officials,” the CBI states, adding that cattle was also procured by Haque from Customs auctions.

The CBI had earlier filed a chargesheet in the case followed by two supplementary chargesheets. Apart from the role of Haque, these chargesheets described the alleged role of BSF officers, businessmen and a section of the West Bengal police and administration in the racket, and their alleged links to the cattle-smugglers.

Security guard’s role

The third supplementary chargesheet, filed on August 6, goes on to draw an alleged link between the smugglers and the TMC leader through “Sehegal Hossain (who) was appointed police constable in 2005” and “since 2011 has been working as personal security guard to Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal who is also district president of TMC in Birbhum district of West Bengal”. Hossain was arrested on June 9 this year by the CBI.

According to the chargesheet, the guard “used to collect illegal gratification from accused Md Enamul Haque and Sk Abdul Latif on behalf of Shri Anubarata Mondal for extending protection and patronage towards continuing the illegal cattle procurement from the local pashu haats of Birbhum and to transport such cattle to Bangladesh”.

The CBI has also alleged that Hossain, the guard, engaged “in criminal conspiracy with other accused persons” and “used to collect illegal gratification on behalf of Shri Anubrata Mondal for arranging protection and patronage towards continuing the illegal business of cattle procurements”.

“By that means he (Hossain) also amassed huge wealth from the said accused persons which was nothing but the proceeds of crime of cattle smuggling to Bangladesh by the accused persons,” the chargesheet states.

According to the CBI, Call Detail Records (CDR) show that the guard Hossain “has been in close nexus with chargesheeted accused Md. Enamul Haque during the period of offence” while “documents have been seized showing relationship of Sehegal Hossain with Sk. Abdul Latif”.

“…he (Hossain) used to receive phone calls meant for Anubrata Mondal as evident from the current CDR…There are a total of 16 mobile phone calls between accused Md Enamul Haq and Sehegal in the year 2017,” the chargesheet states while listing all the calls with timelines.

The chargesheet also points to property dealings and vehicle purchases worth over Rs 5 crore of Hossain, his mother and wife — and refers to them as “shadow purchase” which, it says, is “grossly disproportionate to the total income of Sehegal Hossain and his family members during such period”.

For instance, it states: “A landed property was transferred in the name of Smt. Latifa Khatun (mother of Sehegal Hossain) via two persons who stood as shadow purchase/seller. The value of the land was shown very less in the sale deed. There are oral evidence which support that Sehegal had received ransom amount of illegal gratification from accused Md. Enamul Haq on behalf of Anubrata Mondal for protection and patronage of illegal cattle business.”

“During the period 2015-2022, Shri Sehgal Hossain and his family members purchased almost total 59 immovable properties located… In Domkol, Bolpur, Suri, Bidhannagar, Rajarhut etc. Although no such declaration was given by him to his department,” the chargesheet states.

“Besides, there were heavy vehicles purchased in the name of Samaiya Khandokar that is wife of Sehgal Hossain who was appointed as a school teacher in 2015. Thus total expenditure (Approximately) comes to Rs, 1,37,24,846/-, after computation total assets and expenditure has come to Rs. 5,47,90,867,” it states.

Missing partner

The chargesheet also elaborates on the alleged role of Haque’s partner, Abdul Latif, who is yet to be traced.

According to the CBI Chargesheet, “Sk. Abdul Latif was the key person of accused Md. Enamul Haque to procure cattle from Ilambazaar Poshu Haat and then to transport such cattle to the suitable nearest location to the international Indo-Bangladesh border. Moreover documents have been seized showing the relationship of Sehegal Hossain with Sk. Abdul Latif of Illambazar, partner of Md. Enamul Haque.”

The chargesheet states that Latif also allegedly “participated in cattle auctions of Jangipur Customs Office in Murshidabad, in almost 16 auctions” and that the “cattle purchased by him through auction…was also smuggled to Bangladesh in active connivance with accused Md. Enamul Haque.”

It accuses Latif of being the “key person to arrange Mantu Mallick @Aftabuddin Mallick of Mallick Pashu Haat at Burbhum for accused Md. Enamul Haque”. It states that Mallick was behind “back dated fake cattle sale bills (Char) (that) were issued in the name of accused Enamul Haque”. “These back dated bills were created by the staff of Mantu Malllick in order to justify that cattle procured by accused Md. Enamul Haque from Customs Auctions were sold to such local Haat (market) but not smuggled”.
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More than a dozen people have been arrested in the case so far. The CBI’s FIR in the case, registered on September 21, 2020, charged the accused under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating), and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.