Attack on ED team in Sandeshkhali: Sheikh Shahjahan to be produced before Basirhat court
Mar 10, 2024
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 10 : Suspended Trinamool Congress strongman and Sandeshkhali-accused, Sheikh Shahjahan, was brought out of the CBI office at Nizam Palace in Kolkata on Sunday.
He is to be produced before the Basirhat court, which will pronounce an order on his custody, on Sunday.
Earlier, on the directive of the Calcutta High Court, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Kolkata Police handed custody of Sheikh Shahjahan to the CBI.
Issuing a contempt notice to the CID, the high court ruled on Wednesday that the case pertaining to the attack on ED officials be handed over to the CBI along with the custody of the prime accused, Shahjahan.
The court further observed that state police played 'hide and seek' in the matter.
"The accused is a political influencer. The investigation should be handed over to the CBI and the custody of the accused by 4:15 pm today," the high court observed.
After reportedly being on the run for close to two months, the now-suspended TMC strongman was arrested by West Bengal Police on February 29.
He was produced before the Basirhat court, which remanded him in police custody for 10 days.
Apart from the attack on an ED team, which was out raiding his Sandeshkhali residence in connection with the alleged ration scam, Shahjahan is also accused of land grab, extortion and committing excesses on women along with his henchmen.
The women of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district erupted in violent protests and came out on the streets, accusing Shahjahan and his aides of grave excesses and atrocities.
Multiple women in the island accused Shajahan and his aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion.
