The police remand of Trinamul Congress leader Anubrata Mondal by a court on Tuesday prompted senior officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to consult legal experts to explore ways of producing him in the Rouse Avenue court in New Delhi.

By the end of the day when Mondal was taken into the custody of the Bengal police, senior ED officials realised that he would not be immediately available to them for his production in the Delhi court.

On Monday, the Rouse Avenue court had granted the ED’s plea for bringing him to Delhi for interrogation in the multi-crore cattle scam case.

Insiders in the central agency said by Wednesday, they would inform the Delhi court how the developments in Bengal made it difficult for the ED to produce Mondal despite a production warrant issued for him.

“We will also keep a watch on the proceedings in Delhi High Court where we expect Mondal’s lawyers to challenge the lower court’s order,” said a senior ED official.

“Our legal experts will draw up their moves depending on whether the high court stays the lower court order or quashes it.”

Insiders in the ED said till late Monday evening, they had no clue about the complaint that had been filed against Mondal, a key accused in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case, in Bengal.

The first jolt came on Tuesday morning when officials learnt about a team of Bengal police moving Mondal from Asansol to Dubrajpur in Birbhum to produce him in a court following an FIR that was filed against him in an attempt-to-murder case.

“We had already informed the officials of the correctional home in Asansol about the Rouse Avenue court’s direction and by afternoon, a team of our officers would have arrived with the court’s order,” the official said.

“Even before the order could be formally handed over, the state police had shifted him out of the correctional home for court production in Dubrajpur.”

The ED, which is probing into the alleged money trail in the smuggling case, has already filed two chargesheets. The ED has already attached assets worth Rs 20.25 crore of several accused.

“Today’s developments at Dubrajpur will help us establish how powerful and influential a leader Mondal has been and how that helped him in transferring the proceeds of crime to different places,” the official said.