Birbhum police have filed the first chargesheet in the Tulu Mondal case, naming 12 accused in an alleged corruption investigation linked to the district’s stone industry. The 52-page chargesheet was submitted before the Suri court on Tuesday, 75 days after the investigation began, according to Anandabazar – West Bengal.
Tulu Mondal has been identified as the main accused in the chargesheet, although he remains absconding. Four state government officials who have already been arrested are also named in the document. Police have added multiple provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against those officials, the report said.
The chargesheet also includes relatives and acquaintances of Mondal. Investigators have recorded statements from 52 witnesses and submitted those statements as part of the court filing. The police action marks the first formal chargesheet in the case, while the investigation itself remains incomplete.
Government lawyer Bibhas Chattopadhyay said the chargesheet had been filed within 75 days but that the entire investigation was not yet over. He said additional chargesheets could be submitted later and that the prosecution wanted the trial process to begin quickly.
Investigators estimate that the alleged corruption involved more than Rs 1,000 crore, according to the report. The prosecution has described the case as highly important and sought daily hearings before the court. The request is intended to accelerate proceedings, but the court has not yet issued a direction on the matter.
Lawyer Somnath Mukhopadhyay, representing the accused, said that bail applications had been filed for all of them. The court had not passed an order on those applications at the time of the report. The chargesheet represents the prosecution’s allegations; the accused will have the opportunity to contest them during the judicial process.
Mondal’s continued absence is a significant procedural issue in the case. Police have previously asked the court to declare him a proclaimed offender. His lawyer challenged that request, and the matter is currently pending before a higher court.
According to police sources cited by Anandabazar, Mondal is believed to be in West Asia with his family. The prosecution has said that proceedings can continue against an accused in a corruption case even if that person has not been arrested, and that a court can reach a finding in the case in accordance with law.
The case also places scrutiny on the enforcement systems surrounding Birbhum’s stone economy, where alleged financial irregularities can involve private operators, intermediaries and government officials. The next procedural milestones will be the court’s consideration of the bail applications, the pending challenge to the proclaimed-offender request and any further chargesheets filed as the investigation continues.
