Sandeshkhali ED attack case: Bengal hands Shahjahan Sheikh to CBI after fresh HC direction

#WATCH | West Bengal | Sandeshkhali accused Shahjahan Sheikh brought to CBI office, in Kolkata.

Calcutta High Court today observed that the investigation into the attack on ED officials should be handed over to CBI and the custody of accused Sheikh Shahjahan be done today. pic.twitter.com/2oj05CoKmB

— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2024

The high court had once again ordered the West Bengal administration to hand over custody of the former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader to the CBI by 4.15 pm. Following this, a team of CBI officials reached Bhawani Bhawan before 4 pm.

Before giving the custody, the West Bengal CID sent him to SSKM hospital for medical check-up. After he returned to Bhabani Bhawan, the police headquarters, the CBI took custody of Shahjahan.

On Tuesday, a division bench headed by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam had asked the police to hand over Sheikh’s custody to the CBI but the state government approached the Supreme Court and the police refused to hand over Sheikh’s custody, saying the matter was sub-judice.

Sheikh was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29 in connection with an attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials at Sandeshkhali on January 5 while they were on their way to raid his house in the alleged ration scam case.

On Wednesday morning, West Bengal government counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appealed before a Supreme Court bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna to hear the plea but the bench refused.

Later, the CBI moved a petition before the Calcutta High Court. The state government said that it would file a special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court and Sheikh could not be handed over before that. However, the division bench ordered that Sheikh should be transferred to CBI custody by 4.15 pm on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the CBI filed three FIRs on Tuesday – one on the attack on ED officials at Sheikh’s residence in Sandeshkhali, another on the attack on ED officials at Sarberia in North 24 Parganas district and a third FIR filed on the attack on the ED team at TMC leader Shankar Adhya’s residence.

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday had ordered the transfer of the probe into the January 5 attack on ED officials in Sandeshkhali, as well as custody of Sheikh to the CBI, coming down heavily on the West Bengal Police, who it called “totally biased”.

The division bench of Calcutta HC Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya also set aside an earlier single-bench order which had directed the formation of a joint special investigation team of the CBI and state police to probe the attack.