TMC's Anubrata Mandal skips CBI appearance again in cattle smuggling scam

The CBI on Saturday formed a four-member medical team to examine TMC heavyweight Anubrata Mandal as he skipped appearance before its sleuths citing health reasons, despite being sent summons for the sixth time in connection with the cattle smuggling scam, an official of the agency said.

A separate team of the central agency has also asked him to appear before it on Sunday for aiding the probe into last year's post-poll violence cases.

Mandal was discharged from the state-run SSKM Hospital on Friday evening, 17 days after he was admitted there with health-related complications.

According to the official, the Birbhum district president of the TMC sought four weeks' time to appear before CBI detectives.

"We have formed a special medical team to conduct tests on Anubrata and find out more about his present health condition. Today, Mandal did not appear before our officers. We had made all preparations for the 5.30 pm session.

"He has written (emailed) to us to say that he was not fit enough to walk around and sought another four weeks' time to appear before us," the official said, adding that the email had been forwarded to agency headquarters in Delhi.

Mandal had been advised "full rest" by doctors for the next two to three weeks, sources close to the leader said.

"We want to find out whether Mandal will be able to appear before our officers and take questions. We need to check the extent of his illness," the CBI official said.

Mondal, the TMC's Birbhum district president, had earlier dodged CBI appearances multiple times citing health problems and election-related work.