Kolkata, Aug 16 (IANS) Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal’s former bodyguard Saigal Hossain has been arrested after a marathon interrogation of about 22 hours, said the police on Sunday morning.
He was arrested from his flat in Birbhum district’s Bolpur at midnight and will be produced before the Suri court in Birbhum later in the day. About 800 grams of gold and Rs 13 lakh in cash have been recovered from the Bolpur flat of Saigal Hossain.
According to the police, a search was being conducted at his house in connection with a case filed against Birbhum-based stone quarry owner Tulu Mondal, who is accused of corruption during the previous Trinamool Congress government era.
A few days ago, cash worth Rs 28.5 crore and 15 kg of gold were recovered from the house of Minar Mondal, a relative of Tulu Mondal.
The police have been searching for Tulu Mondal, who continues to abscond, and a red corner notice has been issued against him.
On Saturday, the police raided Saigal’s flat in the bypass area of Bolpur after getting a link to that case.
According to sources, in addition to gold and cash, a lot of land documents were found in Saigal’s flat. They were confiscated by the police.
The sources said that more than 100 land documents were found in the flat. He was influential in the area due to his proximity with Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal, who is at present out on bail in the cattle smuggling case. The initial assumption of the investigators is that Saigal used his influence to help Tulu Mondal indulge in corruption.
It may be noted that Tulu Mondal has been asked to appear in the Suri court in Birbhum. However, he has not come out in public yet. He has filed a protection application in the Calcutta High Court through his lawyer.
Mondal has also filed a case challenging the arrest warrant issued against him. Several of his properties have been confiscated. He has also drawn the court’s attention to that procedure. However, his request for an urgent hearing in this case was not successful. Justice Kaushik Chanda dismissed his case. The hearing is scheduled to be held as per the list before the bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya.
Although he has not been arrested so far, the police have nabbed several of his relatives and those associated with his business.
–IANS
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