Anubrata taken in W.B. police custody after Delhi court issues production warrant

Opposition parties say the developments have been “scripted” by the West Bengal ruling establishment to ensure that the Trinamool strongman does not have to go to Delhi

A day after a court in Delhi issued a warrant to produce Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal, a court in West Bengal’s Birbhum district on December 20 remanded him to police custody for seven days in connection with an assault on a party worker which allegedly took place one-and-a-half years ago.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had approached the Delhi court seeking production of Mr. Mondal in a cross border cattle smuggling scam and on Monday, the court accepted the Central agengy’s prayer. Mr. Mondal had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the cross border smuggling scam on August 11 and since then has been behind the bars in West Bengal.

On Dec. 20 morning, when Mr. Mondal was produced before a court at Dubrajpur in Birbhum district, his lawyers did not seek any bail. The police complaint was filed by a Trinamool Congress worker only a day ago alleging that he was assaulted by Mr. Mondal in May, 2021 after learning that he may leave the party to join a rival outfit. The police complaint was filed hours after the production warrant was issued by the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Monday.

Lawyers representing the Trinamool leader as well as public prosecutor at the Court in Dubrajpur said that the production warrant by the Delhi court is yet to reach Asansol Correctional Home where Mr. Mondal was lodged. Later in the day, Mr. Mondal moved the Delhi High Court challenging the issuance of a production warrant by the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi.

The development surrounding the Trinamool strongman has led to the rise of political temperatures in the State. Political parties in the Opposition said that the West Bengal ruling establishment was pulling out all stops to prevent Mr. Mondal from going to Delhi. “Who has written the script, is it State Secretariat or Bhawani Bhawan (WB police headquarters)? But this is a very weak script. People of the State are watching,” BJP leader and MLA Agnimitra Paul said.

Congress leader Kaustav Bagchi said that the Trinamool Congress is buying time so that they can approach higher courts seeking their intervention in the production warrant.

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh insisted that there was nothing wrong with the developments, saying that the courts have taken cognisance of the case and acted as per the law.