The special court of the CBI in Asansol on Thursday granted permission to the Enforcement Directorate to take Birbhum Trinamul president Anubrata Mondal to Delhi for interrogation.

The ED lawyers had appealed to the special CBI court in Asansol seeking permission to take the Trinamul strongman to Delhi for cross-examination in the cattle smuggling case.

The CBI had arrested Mondal last August on charges of his role in cattle smuggling. He was lodged in Asansol correctional home after spending two weeks in CBI custody.

A production warrant was filed before the judge on Thursday seeking permission to cross-examine him in Delhi. After examining the documents, the CBI judge accepted the request of the ED and allowed the agency to take Mondal in transit remand to the capital.

According to ED sources, Mondal will be taken to Delhi, by train, within two days. The process of confirming train tickets and police arrangements is on, said a source.

“Our officials went to Asansol correctional home to submit necessary documents to take Mondal into their custody and take him to Delhi,” said a source. Mondal’s former bodyguard Saigal Hossain has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail for the past few months.

According to sources, ED wants to interrogate Mondal and Saigal together. The Enforcement Directorate submitted the production warrant of Mondal before the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Wednesday for review.

Sources said the court granted the review petition. The order came via e-mail to the Asansol correctional home authorities on Wednesday night. The ED and the jail authorities informed the CBI court on Thursday about the development, which later granted permission to Anubrata’s transit remand to Delhi.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed her dissatisfaction on hearing about the decision of taking Mondal to Delhi. “They are taking Keshto (as Anubrata Mondal is referred to) to Delhi? Is it because of the panchayat elections?” she asked.