Cattle smuggling scam: CBI raids rice mill owned by arrested TMC leader

The CBI on Saturday conducted a raid at one rice mill here allegedly owned by arrested Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal as a part of its ongoing probe into the alleged cattle smuggling scam, a senior officer said.

During the raid, the CBI sleuths found several high-end vehicles parked inside the premises of the mill, he said, adding that the ownership of the vehicles is "being looked into".

Asked why the rice mill here in Birbhum district was raided, the officer said that the agency was trying to find out how the Trinamool Congress' Birbhum district president got the money to purchase it.

"The rice mill was purchased by Mr Mondal in 2017. The rice mill has been mentioned as the address of several other offices belonging to him, his daughter and his late wife. We are trying to find out certain other things which may have links to the cattle scam," the officer told PTI.

The CBI sleuths, who were made to wait outside the rice mill for over half an hour by the security guards, are planning to conduct raids in different places in the district in connection with their ongoing probe.

Mondal was arrested by the CBI on August 11 in connection with a cattle smuggling case.