Birbhum District Police on Monday morning arrested Sitesh Pramanik, the manager of absconding stone-quarry owner Tulu Mondal (also known as Mohammad Nazibuddin), marking the third arrest in a widening cash-and-gold recovery case that has shaken Birbhum district in West Bengal. Pramanik is expected to be produced before a district court later in the day, with the Public Prosecutor set to seek police custody.

The Arrests So Far

The case unravelled last week when police arrested Minar Mondal, a close relative of Tulu Mondal, after recovering ₹28 crore in unaccounted cash and 15 kilograms of gold — valued at approximately ₹22 crore — from his residence in Birbhum. During interrogation, Minar reportedly admitted that both the cash and gold belonged to Tulu Mondal and that he had merely been keeping them safe.

Following that disclosure, police seized Tulu Mondal's own residence in Suri, Birbhum district. On Saturday night, a second relative — Sheikh Wasim, identified as Tulu's nephew — was arrested in Siliguri, Darjeeling district, reportedly while attempting to flee to Nepal. Pramanik's arrest on Monday is the third in the sequence.

'We had been looking for Sitesh ever since the recovery of this huge amount of money and gold last week from Minar's residence,' a Birbhum district police officer said. 'Now Sitesh has been arrested. This is the third arrest in the matter after Minar and Wasim.'

Fugitive Tulu Mondal: Believed to Be in Dubai

Despite three arrests, the principal accused Tulu Mondal remains at large. According to police, he is believed to be in Dubai, accompanied by a few close family members. Interrogations of both Minar and Wasim have not yielded precise information about his current whereabouts, according to investigators.

ED Steps In

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun preparatory steps to launch a formal probe against Tulu Mondal. Central agency officials are currently collecting information from the Birbhum District Police, signalling that the case could soon escalate into a money-laundering investigation under federal jurisdiction.

The Anubrata Mondal Connection

Tulu Mondal was widely regarded in the district as a close confidant of Anubrata Mondal, the former All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) Birbhum district president. Anubrata Mondal had previously been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and subsequently by the ED in 2022 in connection with a cattle smuggling case in West Bengal. Tulu Mondal's name surfaced in that investigation as well, and the ED had raided his house and office at the time. This earlier exposure makes the current recovery of assets particularly significant, as investigators appear to be revisiting connections that were flagged years ago.

With the ED now entering the picture and the primary accused reportedly abroad, the Birbhum case is likely to intensify in the days ahead.