NCW seeks confiscation of Anubrata Mondal’s phone over rape threat to cop’s family

Kolkata: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has sent a fresh communication to West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar, urging immediate confiscation of the mobile phone of Trinamool Congress strongman and former Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal.

The demand follows a viral audio clip in which Mondal is allegedly heard threatening a police officer with rape threats directed at the officer’s mother and wife.

This is the NCW’s second formal communication to the DGP regarding the incident. In its first letter, sent last week, the Commission had expressed serious concern over the apparent police inaction despite public outrage and demanded stringent action against Mondal.

In its latest communication on Tuesday, the NCW questioned why Mondal’s phone had not been seized, even though the police had already confiscated the phone of the officer who received the threats. Sources said the Commission is also seeking clarification on whether Mondal’s interrogation — reportedly conducted for a few hours last week — was video-recorded.

The Commission has repeatedly criticised the Birbhum district police for failing to take meaningful action. Though a case has been registered against Mondal, he has only been questioned once, and no further steps have been taken, raising questions about the seriousness of the investigation.

Mondal, a controversial figure in Bengal politics, was arrested in August 2022 by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with a multi-crore cattle smuggling case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later arrested him in the same matter. After spending more than two years in Tihar Jail, he was recently released on bail and returned to his home in Bolpur, Birbhum.

Meanwhile, CBI officials have reportedly launched a fresh inquiry to determine whether witnesses in the cattle smuggling case were also subjected to intimidation — either by Mondal or his associates — to alter their statements given to the agency.

IANS