Garima Sharma, Pune
On Tuesday, West Bengal Police was ordered to transfer the custody of Sheikh Shahjahan and the ongoing investigation of the January 5th attack on ED officials in Sandeshkhali to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
As per the current reports, the CBI has received the custody of Sheikh Shahjahan, the suspended leader of Trinamool, one day after the state turned him over to the investigative agency along with all the case papers. In the Sandeshkhali extortion, land grab, and sexual assault cases, Shahjahan is the primary accused.
He was sent to the SSKM hospital for a medical examination by the West Bengal CID prior to being granted custody. Shahjahan was arrested by the CBI after he went back to Bhabani Bhawan police headquarters.
The investigation of the January 5th attack on the Enforcement Directorate officer in Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas district, would also be taken over by the investigating agency.
The incident happened when ED agents raided Shahjahan’s Sandeshkhali home during an investigation into an alleged multi-core ration distribution scheme. Shahjahan was then taken into custody by the West Bengal Police on February 29.
Chief Justice T. S. Sivagnanam’s division bench in the Calcutta High Court requested on Tuesday that the Bengal Police turn over Sheikh’s custody to the CBI. The West Bengal Government, however, objected to the court judgement, claiming that they had the right to appeal to the Supreme Court. The CBI team was compelled to depart empty-handed from the Bengal Police’s headquarters in Kolkata. They were informed that Shahjahan would stay under police custody pending the decision of the Supreme Court.
West Bengal attorney Abhishek Manu Singhvi requested that the Supreme Court bench, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, hear his plea immediately on Wednesday morning, but the court declined to do so.
The CBI filed a suit with the Calcutta High Court later on Wednesday. Sheikh could not be released before the state government filed a special leave plea (SLP) with the Supreme Court. But by Wednesday at 4:15 p.m., the division bench mandated that Sheikh be taken into the custody of the CBI.
Three FIRs have been lodged by the CBI against Shahjahan. The first is for the attack on ED officials; the second is on the ED officers in Sarberia in the North 24 Parganas district; and the third is for the ED team at the residence of TMC leader Shankar Adhya.