Kolkata, Apr 23 (IANS): As the CBI sleuths, probing the cattle and coal smuggling cases in West Bengal, got the news of Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mandal being discharged from hospital late on Friday evening, they have started discussing the date and time to schedule his interrogation.

Mandal was in the hospital for 17 days with reported stomach and lungs related ailments.

Highly placed sources from Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) office in Kolkata told IANS on condition of anonymity that they are in constant touch with their higher officials in New Delhi to ensure that Mandal under no circumstance can dodge the interrogation process this time.

It is learnt that the central agency sleuths have kept open the options of either calling him to CBI office or going to his residence to question him.

The special initiative of the central probe agency sleuths had been prompted as Mandal, also the Trinamool Congress district president of Birbhum, has returned home on late Friday evening form state-run SSK Medical |College & Hospital with a shield of prescription from the medical board suggesting four week of complete bed-rest for him after which he will have to attend another round of medical check-up.

Mandal's counsel S. Daw informed the media that they had been updating the CBI officers on everything since the time his client was hospitalised. "Now it is up to the CBI sleuths to decide their next course of action on this matter.

To recall, Mandal was supposed to appear for questioning at the CBI office at Nizam Palace in central Kolkata on April 6, 2022. On April 5, 2022, he even reached Kolkata from his ancestral residence at Bolpur in Birbhum district.

On the morning of April 6, 2022, he had even started from his residence and all perceived that he was heading for the CBI office at Nizam Palace. However, at the last moment he changed his way and reached state-run SSK Medical |College & Hospital. After initial check-up he was admitted to the hospital's Woodburn Ward, meant for the VVIPs.