CBI takes custody of Sheikh Shahjahan in ED team attack case
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday got the custody of suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in a case involving an attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on January 5.
The handover came a day after a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court presided by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam ordered that the case involving the attack on ED officials and the custody of the accused be granted to the CBI by 4.30 p.m.
On Tuesday, a team of CBI officials visited the State police headquarters but had to return emptyhanded.
Earlier in the day, the ED moved a contempt petition before a Division Bench presided by Justice Harish Tandon against the State government, claiming that it had not implemented Tuesday’s orders of a Division Bench presided by the Chief Justice.
The High Court noted that though the West Bengal government has pleaded that it had filed before the Supreme Court a special leave petition (SLP) challenging Tuesday’s judgement, there was no interim stay granted on the implementation of the orders till the time it was passing its order.
On Wednesday, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal Police handed custody of the accused to the CBI at 6.40 p.m.
Health check-up
Before handing Mr. Shahjahan over to the CBI, the CID took him to a Staterun hospital for a medical checkup. The CBI officials took him to the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital and then to Nizam Palace, where Mr. Shahjahan will be lodged.
Allegations of land grab and sexual assault by villagers, particularly women, in Sandeshkhali, have been made against Mr. Shahjahan and his aides. The region was on the boil for weeks till the West Bengal Police arrested the Trinamool leader on February 29. The delay in handing over the accused to the CBI despite the High Court’s order has triggered strong reactions from the Opposition.