KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now approached for a production warrant from the bodyguard of Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal from a special Delhi court in an effort to probe Sehgal Hossain in the multi-million dollar West Bengal cattle smuggling scheme.

According to ED sources, the case would be heard on Monday at the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court at Rouse Avenue in New Delhi. 

The development comes after the Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh's rejection of the ED's plea on this count on October 11.

In dismissing the ED's argument, Justice Ghosh pointed out that the central agency could not transport Hossain to New Delhi without a legitimate production document, and that only the PMLA court in that city has the authority to issue such a document.
In his observation, he took an objection to the ED's process of keeping the option of multiple courts open on this count.
The ED sources said, although their sleuths have the court's permission to question Hossain while he is in judicial custody at the Asansol Special Correctional Home in West Burdwan district, the short time allotted to them is not long enough to get through to him and elicit answers on important issues, particularly the money trail angle.

That is precisely the reason, an ED official said, "why we want to take him to New Delhi and question him at the agency's headquarters there." The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is pursuing a separate investigation into the livestock smuggling scheme, has named three firms in a new charge sheet.

Anant Tradecom Private Limited, Hoque Mercantile Private Limited, and Hoque Industries Private Limited essentially served as front firms for Enamul Hoque, the cartel's kingpin, to launder money obtained from the sale of cattle.

For the first time, the CBI identified Mondal as the primary victim of the fraud in the charge sheet. The same Asansol jail facility where Hossain is being held under judicial supervision also houses Mondal.

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