Kolkata, Mar 15 (PTI) The ED has arrested the chartered accountant of TMC leader Anubrata Mondal in connection with its probe into the alleged cattle smuggling scam, an official of the central agency said on Wednesday.

Also Read | Sweta Jha, Former Mrs India and BJP Mayoral Candidate, Reels Holding AK-47 Rifle and INSAS Rifles Go Viral.

Manish Kothari was arrested after around seven hours of grilling by Enforcement Directorate officers at their city office late on Tuesday evening after he allegedly "non-cooperated" with them, he said.

Also Read | AnyDesk App Fraud: 90-Year-Old NRI Duped of Rs 10 Lakh by Cyber Thugs Through App in Lucknow.

"He has not been cooperating with us and in a way tried to divert the investigation. He has been arrested and will be questioned further," the official said.

The officials said the ED wants to question Kothari and Mondal, who is the Birbhum Trinamool Congress president together as a part of their investigation.

"Questioning both Mondal and his CA together will definitely help us in the investigation. This person has played a key role in the scam," he added.

The TMC leader was arrested by the ED in November last year. He was taken into custody by the CBI in the cattle smuggling case in August 2022.

The ED after getting custody of Mondal took him to New Delhi to probe into the scam.

He is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)