Birbhum police raid aides of absconding stone quarry kingpin Tulu Mondal

Authorities in Birbhum, West Bengal, are intensifying their crackdown on Md Nazibuddin alias Tulu Mondal, a kingpin of an illegal stone quarry and sand business, who remains at large. Police conducted raids on the homes and offices of several of his associates and relatives over the weekend as part of a probe into a massive revenue evasion scheme.

“

Closure notices were sent to eight stone quarries because they were operating without a valid licence.

Officials estimate Mondal's operations deprived the state of revenue amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees during the Trinamool Congress regime. The investigation revealed that Mondal's business, which began around 2010-11 with him as a laborer, rapidly expanded by 2015 due to his alleged proximity to powerful politicians. By 2020, his company was reportedly collecting toll tax from approximately 2,000 trucks daily carrying stones and sand from Birbhum, with only a fraction of the collected tax remitted to the government.

Recent seizures include 15 kg of gold bars and ₹28.05 crore from Mondal's cousin's home, leading to the arrest of her husband, a retired state bus driver. The police have also frozen ₹93 crore in Mondal's bank accounts and seized 242 vehicles, including luxury cars like Audi and BMW, along with 21 properties, including farmhouses. Mondal's nephew, SK Wasim, was apprehended in Siliguri while attempting to escape to Nepal.

“

Mondal started his career in around 2010-11 as a common labourer who carried stones from quarries to trucks. By 2015, he became the owner of several stone quarries because of his proximity to powerful politicians. By 2020, his company was collecting toll tax from around 2000 trucks that left Birbhum every day carrying stones and sand. He gave only a fraction of the collected tax to the government

Further investigations into Mondal's modus operandi indicate he charged ₹2,500–3,000 from each truck exceeding the government-regulated weight limit. Daily collections from an estimated 1,500-2,000 trucks reportedly amounted to around ₹22 lakh for the government, suggesting a vast sum was pocketed by Mondal.

“

From the records we seized, it appears that besides his illegal quarry business, Mondal charged ₹2,500–3,000 from each truck loaded beyond the government-regulated limit. Around 1500-2000 trucks passed through the toll booths every day. Mondal used to give only around ₹22 lakh a day to the government

Police suspect Mondal may have fled to Dubai, where he is believed to have invested in several properties. The seized gold bars are suspected to have been smuggled from Switzerland, Dubai, and Malaysia. Meanwhile, West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari criticized the previous administration, suggesting that such illicit activities would not have been possible without the direct support of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“

None of this would have been possible without the direct support of ex-chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Nobody can amass so much money and buy such properties and vehicles in one day.