Bengal coal smuggling case: CBI raids house of Sukanya Mondal’s co-director in 2 companies

Bengal coal smuggling case: CBI raids house of Sukanya Mondal’s co-director in 2 companiesJune 8, 2023Kolkata, June 8 (IANS) A team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths on Thursday morning raided the residence of Bidyut Baran Gayen, the co-director in two companies with Anubrata Mondal’s daughter Sukanya Mondal as one of the directors.Till the time the report was filed, the raid and search operations were on and the central agency sleuths were conducting parallel interrogation of Gayen at his residence only. Starting his career as the domestic aide in the residence of Mondal, the Trinamool Congress’s Birbhum district president, Gayen became not only a close confidante of the ruling party strongman but also was chosen as one of the two directors in two companies, namely ANM Agrochem Foods Private Limited and Neer Developer Private Limited, where Sukanya Mondal was the second director.Both Anubrata Mondal and Sukanya Mondal are currently in judicial custody at Tihar Jail in New Delhi on charges of their alleged involvement in the cattle smuggling case in West Bengal.During the investigation, the CBI sleuths also summoned Tufan Midya, the driver of Sukanya Mondal personal vehicle and two employees of a local private sector bank branch at the same venue for joint interrogation. It is learnt that the central agency sleuths have traced bank accounts in the name of Gayen at this particular bank branch.Sources said that the CBI sleuths have recently traced huge assets and property in the name of Gayen, and the current raid and interrogation was aimed at getting answers on the sources of funds for generating such assets. CBI sleuths doubt that both these companies were actually shell companies meant for diverting scam proceeds, and precisely that is why Gayen, despite being just a domestic aide in Mondal’s residence, was made a director there.–IANSsrc/dpb