The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing alleged links between a multi-crore cattle smuggling case and lottery prize money won by arrested Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mondal, suspects the prime accused in the first case may have won a similar lotter prize in 2017, an official said.
The agency had earlier come across transactions of huge amounts made to the bank accounts of Mondal and his daughter, Sukanya, in 2019 and 2021, the official said, seeking anonymity.
“Now, the bank statement of Mohammad Enamul Haque, the prime accused in the cattle smuggling case, also reveals that ₹50 lakh was deposited in his account in 2017. It could be the lottery prize money,” the official said.
Both Mondal and Haque are in custody.
Mondal was arrested by the CBI on August 11 in connection with its probe in a cattle smuggling case. Officials probing the cattle smuggling case said the federal agency is investigating whether the TMC leader procured the prize-winning ticket from someone else to conceal the proceeds from the smuggling operation.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is running a parallel probe into the Nagaland-based lottery company’s operations in Bengal, after relatives of two more TMC leaders recently bagged the first prize of ₹1 crore.
Haque was arrested in November 2020.