Kolkata High Court Denies Protection to Fugitive Stone Quarry Owner Tulu Mandal

Kolkata, September 22 (Daily Kiran) : The Kolkata High Court has dismissed the plea of fugitive stone quarry owner Tulu Mandal, also known as Mohammad Najibuddin, seeking interim protection from arrest. The ruling was made on September 22, 2026, as the court addressed his request for protection against any harsh actions from police, including an arrest warrant previously issued by a district court.

Najibuddin, a resident of Birbhum district, had urged the court to halt his arrest and other legal proceedings. However, the High Court refused to grant his request. During the hearing, the state government’s lawyer strongly opposed the plea, highlighting that the lower court had already instructed Najibuddin to appear by September 14.

The state’s attorney argued, “We learned from the national intelligence grid that the accused left the country on May 23. The charges against him are serious, which is why he remains at large. If he is granted interim protection now, he could repeat such offenses.”

On the same day, the police submitted a progress report on the case. Justice Bhattacharya reviewed the report at the request of the state government’s lawyer before ultimately rejecting Mandal’s plea for interim protection.

Authorities have already seized assets worth ₹220 crore linked to Mandal. However, investigators believe this amount represents only a fraction of his total wealth. In addition to the seized cash and gold, police have gathered information about nearly 400 bighas (approximately 125 acres) of land that is directly or indirectly owned by Mandal.

Investigators have also uncovered details regarding the use of counterfeit carbon copies to evade millions in state taxes from stone quarries during the tenure of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government. Sources indicate that several state government officials who participated in the tax evasion scheme are also under investigation. Besides the arrest warrant issued by the Birbhum district court, an Interpol Red Corner Notice has been issued against Mandal.