Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 6: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday got the custody of Sandeshkhali Enforcement Directorate official attack case accused and suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan hours after a fresh directive by the Calcutta High Court.
After the Supreme Court refused an immediate hearing against the Calcutta High Court’s Tuesday’s order to hand over the Sandeshkhali inquiry to the CBI, the High Court on Wednesday issued a fresh order to the West Bengal administration to hand over Shahjahan’s custody to the CBI by 4.15 P.M.
Following this, a team of CBI officials reached Bhawani Bhawan before 4 pm. But before giving the custody, the West Bengal CID sent him to SSKM hospital for medical check-up. After he returned to Bhawani Bhawan, the police headquarters, the CBI took custody of Shahjahan around 6.45 P.M. on Wednesday capping a two-day stand-off between the Bengal government and the central agency.
Sheikh Shahjahan is the key accused in the Sandeshkhali extortion, land grab, and sexual assault cases and the incident had created a huge political row between the ruling TMC and the principal opposition in the state the BJP.
On Tuesday the Calcutta High Court had ordered the state to hand over Shahjahan, and all case materials, to the CBI by 4.30 P.M. but the state had refused to comply saying the matter was sub-judice citing a last-gasp appeal at the Supreme Court which, however, on Wednesday morning refused an urgent hearing. When the CBI team reached Bengal Police’s HQ in Kolkata, they were forced to return empty-handed. They were told Shahjahan would remain in police custody till the Supreme Court’s ruling.
This afternoon, an irate High Court set a new deadline – 4.15 pm. The court underlined the seriousness of the state disregarding an order passed by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, and said, “Supreme Court has not ordered a stay. So Shahjahan must be handed over to the CBI by 4.15 pm…” The High Court also issued a notice of contempt and asked Bengal Police’s Criminal Investigation Department, which had custody of Sheikh Shahjahan, to file an affidavit within two weeks.
In yesterday’s hearing the High Court held the police to be “totally biased” and called for a “fair, honest, and complete investigation” into allegations against Shahjahan. “There can be no better case than this… which requires to be transferred (and) to be investigated by the CBI,” it had observed.
The court had also set aside its earlier order by a single judge bench to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of CBI and police officials – and transferred the case solely to the central agency.
The Enforcement Directorate – whose officials were attacked by a mob of Shahjahan’s supporters on January 5, sparking this row – and the state had moved separate challenges to that order; the ED wanted the case to be given to the CBI only, while the state wanted the police to handle the probe.
The ED later said it had provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth ₹ 12.78 crore in connection with the Sheikh Shahjahan case. Sheikh Shahjahan had been on the run since January 5. After nearly two months, he was arrested by a special police team and suspended from the Trinamool for six years. His arrest came three days after the High Court ordered his arrest.
Sheikh was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29 in connection with the attack on 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 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.
The CBI has 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.
