Kolkata, Aug 17 (IANS): Sukanya Mondal, daughter of Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal, on Wednesday refused to cooperate with Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials during questioning over the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal.

A team of four CBI officials, which included a lady officer, reached Anubrata Mondal's ancestral residence at Bolpur in Birbhum district at around 12.30 p.m, with the purpose of questioning Sukanya.

Despite allowing them entry into the residence, she refused to answer a single question.

CBI sources said that Sukanya Mondal told the agency sleuths that she was not in a mental state to answer any question in a situation when her father is in custody, while also dealing with losing her mother a year ago.

The CBI team left after about 10 minutes trying to persuade her to cooperate in the investigation process.

The sources said that questioning Sukanya Mondal has become important after the CBI traced two companies -- ANM Agrochem Foods Private Limited and Neer Developer Private Limited -- where she is one of the two directors.

The other director in these two companies is Bidyuta Gayen.

CBI sleuths doubt that the two firms are shell companies meant for channelising the proceeds of the illegal cattle trade to different avenues.

The question is that how can Sukanya Mondal, a primary teacher in a state-run school, can have such huge assets and property in her name.

The CBI sources said that besides these two companies, Sukanya Mondal's bank accounts, either individually held by her or jointly with her father or other family members, are also under the scanner.

On Wednesday, the probe agency sleuths also questioned Anubrata Mondal's chartered accountant Manish Kothari, as well as two employees of the local branch of a public sector bank in Bolpur, where the father-daughter duo had bank accounts.