Anubrata Mondal arrest sheds light on multi-crore cow smuggling racket

Trinamool Congress’s arrested Birbhum district chief Anubrata Mondal appears to have been just one of the cogs, though an important one, in the well-oiled network of cattle smuggling spread across the country. Mondal, a known muscleman in Bengal politics, turned Birbhum district into a major transit route for smuggling of cows brought mainly from northern and central states to Bangladesh, CBI sources alleged.

The investigating agency got a whiff of the TMC strongman’s involvement in the smuggling racket after it seized a diary of Enamul Haque, the main accused in the case. The CBI supposedly believes Haque was the kingpin of the smuggling syndicate being run in the southern districts of West Bengal.

In Haque’s diary, the name of West Bengal police constable Sigal Hossain, a security staff member of Mondal, figured prominently, it is alleged.

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After questioning Saigal and scanning through his phone call records, CBI sleuths became sure about Mondal’s involvement in the case. He was arrested on Thursday.

Saigal, who was arrested this June, allegedly used to do all the dealings pertaining to the crime on behalf of the TMC leader. CBI sources even claimed that Mondal spoke to Haque several times using the phone of his bodyguard to discuss his share from the proceeds of the crime.

Modus operandi

Mondal allegedly used to take hefty sums amounting several crores of rupees as “annual protection fee” to allow the entry of cattle-laden trucks to Bengal from the Jharkhand border, and to ensure the safe passage of the vehicles to the Bangladesh border thereof, according to CBI sources.

Most of the cattle that ended up in abattoirs in neighbouring Bangladesh used to come from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. After reaching Bengal, via Jharkhand, the cows were allegedly taken to the state’s biggest cattle market, at Illambazar in Birbhum district.

From there, the animals were taken to bordering villages in neighbouring Murshidabad district for illegal transport to Bangladesh with the help of BSF and Customs officials. At least seven BSF and five Customs officials are reportedly under the CBI scanner in connection with the smuggling case registered in 2018.

Mondal’s investigation

The CBI is now questioning Mondal to find out with whom he shared the  proceeds of the crime to provide protection to the smugglers. He was brought to Kolkata at around 3 am on Friday from Asansol. He has been remanded to CBI custody until August 20.

The apex investigating agency, however, has not yet been able to shed light on how consignments of cattle could be brought to Bengal traversing hundreds of kilometres without getting detected. Such a huge network spanning across several provinces cannot be run without the connivance of administrations of the source and transit states, BSF sources said.

An official of the force, who recently raised alarm about the greater nexus, was reportedly shunted out of Bengal. Sources further said that the role of the so-called gau rakshaks in the entire network is not above suspicion and needed to be investigated.

Before 2014, when the cow vigilantes took upon themselves the responsibilities of “cow protection” and physically attacking alleged cattle smugglers, the supply source was mainly controlled by people from minority communities.

The community reportedly no longer dominates the supply chain. But smuggling continues unabated, though the vigilantism by the self-styled protectors of cows has almost stopped since 2017.

Trade worth crores

Sources said that the illicit trade through south Bengal districts alone had an estimated annual turnover of anything between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 crore. The trade via this sector has slowed down ever since the CBI registered a case on September 21, 2020.

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Apart from Bengal districts that share a border with Bangladesh, cows are also smuggled through Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya. The cattle bound for north-eastern states are also mainly sourced from the cow-belt states.

Unless the kingpins at these source states are brought to book, the illegal trade is unlikely to stop.