Kolkata, 03 August (H.S.): The Birbhum district police on Sunday night arrested Sitesh Pramanik, the manager of absconding stone trader Tulu Mondal, in connection with the investigation into the recovery of a massive cache of cash and gold from the residence of the trader's relative.

Acting on a tip-off, police conducted a late-night raid and apprehended Pramanik, who is believed to have managed Tulu Mondal's business operations. He is scheduled to be produced before a court in Suri on Monday, where investigators are expected to seek his custodial interrogation.

The arrest follows the recovery of Rs 285 million in cash and 15 kilograms of gold from the residence of Minar Mondal, a relative of Tulu Mondal, at Deucha village under Mohammad Bazar Police Station in Birbhum district. Minar Mondal was arrested immediately after the seizure.

Police sources said investigators had been searching for Sitesh Pramanik since the recovery of the cash and gold. Earlier, on Saturday, another relative of Tulu Mondal, Sheikh Wasim, was arrested from Siliguri while allegedly attempting to flee to Nepal. Wasim, who is Tulu Mondal's nephew, was the second person arrested in the case, making Pramanik the third.

Tulu Mondal, who is reportedly close to Birbhum political leader Anubrata Mondal, has remained untraceable since the declaration of the West Bengal Assembly election results on May 4. During questioning, Minar Mondal reportedly told investigators that Tulu had entrusted him with the responsibility of looking after his properties before going into hiding, but claimed he did not know his current whereabouts.

Investigators are yet to ascertain the source of the seized cash and gold. Police are examining whether irregularities in Tulu Mondal's stone business, tax evasion, extortion or illegal land acquisition were linked to the accumulation of the assets. A case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

As part of the investigation, police have also frozen several bank accounts linked to Tulu Mondal. According to investigators, cash recovered during the raids and funds traced in various bank accounts together exceed Rs 1.86 billion. Officials hope that the interrogation of Pramanik will provide crucial leads into the financial network and the whereabouts of the absconding businessman.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh