Arrest of Quarry Owner's Manager in West Bengal Uncovers Major Cash and Gold Haul

Significant Arrests in Birbhum District

Kolkata, Aug 3: On Monday, authorities apprehended Sitesh Pramanik, the manager of the fugitive stone-quarry owner Tulu Mondal, also known as Mohammad Nazibuddin, in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.

Previously, police had detained Minar Mondal, a relative of Tulu, after discovering a staggering Rs 28 crore in cash and 15 kilograms of gold valued at approximately Rs 22 crore at his home in Birbhum.

During questioning, Minar admitted that the cash and gold belonged to Tulu Mondal, asserting that he was merely storing these valuables at his residence. Following this revelation, law enforcement officials confiscated Tulu Mondal’s property located in Suri, Birbhum district.

On Monday morning, police arrested Sitesh Pramanik, intending to interrogate him regarding the origins of the money and gold found at Minar’s residence last week. He is expected to be presented in a district court later today, where the public prosecutor will request his custody for further investigation.

“We have been searching for Sitesh since the discovery of this substantial amount of cash and gold at Minar’s home. Earlier, Sheikh Wasim, another relative of Tulu Mondal, was captured in Siliguri, Darjeeling district, on Saturday night while attempting to flee to Nepal. Wasim is Tulu's nephew. With Sitesh's arrest, this marks the third apprehension in this case following Minar and Wasim,” stated a police officer from Birbhum District.

Meanwhile, Tulu Mondal remains at large. According to police intelligence, he is likely in Dubai with several close family members. Interrogations of Minar and Wasim have not provided any leads on Tulu’s current location.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated preparations for an investigation into Tulu Mondal. Officials from the central agency are currently gathering information from the Birbhum District Police regarding this case.

Tulu Mondal was recognized in the district as a close associate of Anubrata Mondal, the former president of the Trinamool Congress in Birbhum, who previously faced incarceration after being arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and later by the ED in 2022 for his involvement in a cattle smuggling operation in West Bengal.

Tulu Mondal's name has also surfaced in the cattle smuggling investigation, and he was under scrutiny by the ED in 2022, during which central investigators conducted raids on his residence and office.