West Bengal: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee government on Tuesday did not hand over custody of ex-Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as the state government went to the Supreme Court regarding this matter.
The development has come after the Calcutta High Court directed the Bengal government to hand over Sheikh Shahjahan to the CBI. However, the Mamata government moved the Supreme Court in the matter but the Apex court refused an urgent hearing in the matter.
Meanwhile, in another development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 12.78 crore in the form of 14 immovable properties like apartment, agriculture land, land for fishery, land and building, etc in Gram Serberia, Sandeshkhali and Kolkata and two bank accounts under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 in the matter of Shahjahan Seikh and others.
Calcutta High Court directs CBI to take over Sandeshkhali probe
Earlier today, the Calcutta High Court directed that the CBI be handed over the case of attack on ED officials at Sandeshkhali and the custody of suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, as it slammed West Bengal Police for "totally biased" conduct and said every attempt is being made to delay the probe to "protect" the accused.
Within hours of the HC acceding to the Enforcement Directorate's request, the West Bengal government moved the Supreme Court challenging the order but an apex court bench refused an urgent listing of the plea and asked its counsel to mention the matter before the Registrar General.
The CBI, meanwhile, approached West Bengal Police to take over the investigation into the case. An agency team also reached the CID office in Kolkata with paramilitary forces to take custody of Sheikh, but the CID officials did not hand over him.
When ED officials were attacked in Bengal?
A team of ED officials was attacked by a nearly 1,000-strong mob on January 5 when they went to raid the house of Sheikh, who allegedly has close links with arrested former state food minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, in connection with the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal.
"There can be no better case than the case on hand which requires to be transferred to be investigated by CBI," a high court division bench headed by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam ruled and directed that the directions be complied with by 4.30 pm on Tuesday.
Both the ED and the West Bengal government had moved separate appeals challenging a single bench's January 17 order to form a joint special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI and the state police to probe the mob attack on the ED officials.
While the ED wanted the probe to be transferred to the CBI only, the state prayed that the investigation be allowed to be done by the state police.
Sheikh, who is also the prime accused in alleged sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing at Sandeshkhali, was arrested by the state police on February 29 in the ED officials attack case.
The ED had contended before the court that the state police purposely arrested Sheikh in the case of the attack on ED officials, even though more than 40 other cases have been pending against him for years, to deny the CBI the custody of Sheikh if the case is handed over to the central agency.
With inputs from PTI
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