Archive · 5 Aug 2026
Bengal Police raid fugitive trader Tulu Mondal's in-laws' homes
A man named Tulu Mondal, who runs a big stone business in West Bengal, has gone missing.
The police think he made lots of money but did not pay all the taxes he owed, so they are trying to find his hidden treasure.
They already found a huge amount of cash and gold, worth about 50 crore rupees, at the house of his relative Minar.
Now the police are searching the homes of Tulu's in-laws to look for more hidden money.
They searched three houses, brought in a bomb squad, and even used metal detectors to scan the walls and floors.
The police say they found a suspicious bag and are checking it, but Tulu's father-in-law says nothing was taken from his house.
Four people have been arrested so far, including a relative the police suspect was holding properties for Tulu.
The police have frozen, or locked up, assets worth about 220 crore rupees that belong to Tulu.
Tulu has asked a high court for bail, and a central agency called the Enforcement Directorate is also investigating him.
The police hope the searches will help them find Tulu and figure out where all the money came from.
The West Bengal Police's Special Task Force (STF) and Birbhum district police raided three houses of absconding stone trader Tulu Mondal's in-laws and relatives in Birbhum on Wednesday morning.
The raids follow the recovery of Rs 28 crore in cash and 15 kg of gold biscuits worth about Rs 22 crore — nearly Rs 50 crore in total — from the home of Minar Mondal, a relative of Tulu Mondal.
Police recovered a suspicious bag during the searches and are examining it, though father-in-law Nurul Alam told reporters nothing was seized from his house.
A fourth person, Naimuddin Mondal, was arrested and remanded to six days of police custody; police suspect he held proxy properties for Tulu Mondal.
Around Rs 220 crore in assets linked to Mondal have been frozen; the Enforcement Directorate has registered a case and is initiating a Red Corner Notice, and agencies suspect Mondal has fled from Dubai to Turkey.
- Who
- Tulu Mondal (a.k.a. Mohammad Nazibuddin), an absconding stone trader from Birbhum, West Bengal — earlier linked to a cattle smuggling case and a close confidant of former Trinamool Congress Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal — along with his relatives and in-laws, and the West Bengal Police Special Task Force and Birbhum district police investigating him.
- What
- Raids on three residences of Mondal's in-laws and relatives following the recovery of nearly Rs 50 crore in cash and gold from a relative's home, the freezing of about Rs 220 crore in assets, and four arrests.
- When
- Wednesday, August 5, with the raids beginning in the morning.
- Where
- The Parui area and Siuri's Subhaspally in Birbhum district, West Bengal; the earlier cash and gold recovery was in Deucha, Mohammad Bazar.
- Why
- Investigators suspect Mondal amassed substantial assets by evading government taxes linked to his stone business and tried to conceal wealth through relatives and close associates.
Police account
Family's denial
Seizure during raids on relatives' houses
Police account
Police say investigators recovered a suspicious bag during the searches and are examining it, as part of tracing wealth allegedly hidden by Mondal.
Family's denial
Nurul Alam, Tulu Mondal's father-in-law, told reporters nothing was recovered or seized from his house: 'There is nothing in our house.'
- Cash recovered
- Rs 28 crore
- Gold recovered
- 15 kg of gold biscuits (estimated value Rs 22 crore)
- Total recovery
- Nearly Rs 50 crore
- Assets frozen
- Approximately Rs 220 crore
- Arrests made
- 4 persons, including Naimuddin Mondal
- Houses raided
- 3 — father-in-law Nurul Alam, brother-in-law Mintu Sheikh (a.k.a. Mohammad Samsul Alam), and Nurul Islam (a relative, described as a brother-in-law in one report)
- Prime suspect
- Tulu Mondal (a.k.a. Mohammad Nazibuddin), absconding
- Anticipatory bail
- Plea admitted by Calcutta High Court; hearing expected this week
