The CBI has issued fresh summons to Trinamool Congress leader Anubrata Mandal asking him to be present at its Nizam Police office in central Kolkata on Wednesday for questioning in the cattle smuggling case.
To ensure that party’s Birbhum district president receives the summons at any cost, the central agency has adopted a dual-method in sending the same.
On Tuesday morning, the CBI officials sent an email communique to Mandal and his counsel asking him to present at its Kolkata office on Wednesday. At the same time, a team will also reach his ancestral residence at Bolpur in Birbhum district this morning to personally hand over a hardcopy of the summons.
Detailing on why this dual- approach is being adopted, a central agency official said that there is a possibility that he might raise an excuse that he could not check his email because of illness. “So, we decided to issue a hardcopy of this notice at his Birbhum residence, where he is now, ” he added.
The CBI had summoned Mandal on Monday for questioning. But avoiding the summon on pretext of illness, Mandal, reached the state-run SSKM Medical College & Hospital. However, the hospital authorities denied him admission after a seven-member medical board after conducting a thorough medical check-up said that there is no need for admission since his ailments can be treated through medicines only.
Although the CBI officials insisted that Mandal should appear for questioning from the hospital only, the latter ignored it. First, he went to his Chinar Park residence in the northern outskirts of Kolkata from the hospital and soon left for his ancestral residence at Bolpur.
In fact, a CBI officer reached Mandal’s Chinar Park residence in Kolkata on Monday evening only to serve the hardcopy of the fresh summons. However, Mandal had left for Bolpur by then and so the officials went back without serving the notice. Thereafter, the central agency officials decided to serve the hardcopy of the notice at his ancestral residence besides sending the email communique.