"Don't understand why West Bengal govt moved SC": Analyst Tehseen Poonawala on Sandeshkhali matter
Mar 05, 2024
New Delhi [India], March 5 : After the West Bengal government moved the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court order directing a CBI probe into the Sandeshkhali matter, political analyst Tehseen Poonawala said on Tuesday that he does not understand why the government approached the top court.
The West Bengal government has moved the Supreme Court against the Calcutta High Court order directing a CBI probe into the Sandeshkhali matter, which pertains to the attack on ED officials.
"I haven't understood why the West Bengal government has moved court. It'll now give the impression that the West Bengal government is protecting Sheikh Shahjahan," said Poonawala.
"Once the High Court has given in writing in its order that the custody (of Sheikh Shahjahan) must be handed over to the CBI, that order should have been followed immediately...I think perceptionally this will hit the West Bengal government," he added.
Earlier this year, in January, ED officials came under attack in the North 24 Parganas district while they were on their way to raid the homes of former Bongaon Municipality chairman Shankar Adhya and Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in connection with the ration 'scam' case.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the plea before the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
The top court asked him to mention it before the registrar general of the apex court.
Earlier, the Calcutta High Court transferred to the CBI the Sandehskhali case, which pertains to the attack on ED officials.
Shahjahan was arrested by West Bengal police last week from North 24 Parganas district in connection with an alleged assault on ED officers during a raid in January earlier this year.
Following Shahjahan's arrest, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that Shahjahan had been put under the hospitality of the state police in a bid to avoid arrest by the ED and the CBI.
Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district has been witnessing widespread protests against Sheikh Shahjahan since February, as a section of women are seeking justice against alleged atrocities committed by the TMC leader.
A large number of women in Sandeshkhali have accused Shajahan Sheikh and his close aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion.
