Kolkata: Desperate to stop the ED from taking him to New Delhi for interrogation in connection with the multi-crore cattle-smuggling scam in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress strongman and Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal moved the Delhi High Court on Tuesday against the production warrant issued by a Delhi court.
On Tuesday morning only, the Enforcement Directorate’s attempts to take Mondal to New Delhi, armed with the production warrant approved by the Rouse Avenue Court on Monday, received a jolt as a Birbhum court sent him to seven day judicial custody in an attempt to murder case, which though purportedly happened in 2021 and the FIR was filed on Monday evening only.
Sources said that while ED sleuths probing the cattle-smuggling scam here were considering their next course of action following this development, information came from the national capital that the Trinamool strongman has approached the Delhi High Court with a plea for quashing the production warrant.
On Monday, Mondal’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal made a strong argument at Rouse Avenue Court to prevent the approval of the production warrant on grounds that since the case relating to cattle-smuggling had been registered in West Bengal, there was no point of questioning his client at the national capital.
However, the ED’s argument was that being a national agency, they do not have any specific regional jurisdiction and this logic is not applicable for them. Their argument prevailed and the Rouse Avenue Court approved the production warrant.
(IANS)
