Man shot dead on NH-19 was travelling in car owned by accused in Bengal cattle scam

Kolkata, April 2 (IANS) Raju Jha, a coal trader who was shot dead on Saturday evening by unidentified assailants on NH-19 in West Bengal's East Burdwan district, was travelling from Durgapur to Kolkata in a car registered in the name of an absconding accused in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case, a source said on Sunday.

Jha was travelling along with Brotin Bandopadhyay -- who sustained injuries in the incident. According to the source, the Toyota SUV in which Jha and Bandopadhyay were travelling is registered in the name of one Abdul Latif, who is currently absconding, and wanted by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the cattle scam.

When Jha and Bandopadhyay stopped near a sweetmeat outlet in Saktigarh for refreshment, suddenly a blue-coloured vehicle arrived there. The vehicle's occupants opened fire, which resulted in two casualties.

The SUV bearing registration number 'WB-48D-7032' was purchased in January 2020 and was registered with the regional transport office (RTO) at Bolpur in Birbhum district.

As per records of the same RTO, the vehicle is registered in the name of Abdul Latif.

According to records of the CBI, Latif was an "extremely close confidant" of Trinamool Congress strongman and party's Birbhum district president, Anubrata Mondal, who is currently serving his judicial custody in Delhi for this alleged involvement in the cattle- smuggling scam.

CBI records also suggested that Latif, who was mainly responsible for monitoring the smooth passage of smuggled cattle from a cattle-trading hub in Birbhum district to the India-Bangladesh border in Murshidabad district, went absconding when Mondal was arrested by the central agency in August last year.

He went absconding last year immediately after he was summoned by the CBI for questioning.