The West Bengal police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been locked in a custody battle on Tuesday, with the previous citing an attraction by the state authorities within the Supreme Court docket as grounds for refusing handy over Sandeshkhali strongman Sheikh Shahjahan to the latter as mandated by a excessive courtroom order.
Earlier within the day, the Calcutta excessive courtroom transferred the investigation into the assault on Enforcement Directorate officers earlier this 12 months to CBI and requested the West Bengal authorities handy over suspended Trinamool Congress chief Shahjahan to the company, lambasting the state police for attempting to “defend” the embattled strongman battling expenses of extortion, embezzlement, land seize, and sexual violence.
The excessive courtroom requested that Shahjahan, who was arrested on February 29, be handed over by 4.30pm, however the police refused to switch custody, arguing that the federal government had challenged the order within the Supreme Court docket. After a standoff exterior the Crime Investigation Division (CID) workplace in Kolkata for 2 hours, CBI groups returned for the day.
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“The case which has been registered by ED, investigating into the general public distribution system rip-off includes extremely politically highly effective individuals which embrace the accused Shahjahan. Thus, what’s required, is a good, sincere and full investigation and this alone will retain the general public confidence within the neutral working of the state companies,” mentioned a division bench of excessive courtroom chief justice TS Sivagnanam and justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya.
“We have now no hesitation in our thoughts to carry that this confidence has been shaken and there might be no higher case than the case readily available which requires to be transferred to be investigated by CBI.”
The order is the most recent in a sequence of setbacks suffered by the Bengal authorities within the high-profile case that comes simply weeks forward of normal elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to deal with a rally within the space — his third within the state in per week — on Wednesday.
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The island village of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district has been within the eye of the storm since January 5, when ED officers arrived to go looking the house of Shahjahan, a detailed aide of former minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, who was arrested in October final 12 months in reference to an alleged ration distribution rip-off. The ED crew got here below assault from an indignant mob, leaving three officers injured.
However, on February 7, different violent protests started erupting in Sandeshkhali and different close by villages, with teams of residents led largely by native ladies, alleging sexual harassment by the hands of native TMC leaders together with Shahjahan, his brother Sirajuddin, and different associates Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar. Different villages have claimed that Shahjahan and his associates additionally indulged in landgrab.
Shahjahan, a former TMC zila parishad chief, was arrested by the state police on the orders of the excessive courtroom on February 29. The CID later took over the investigation.
Additionally Learn: Why didn’t Shahjahan’s arrest warrant mention crimes against women, asks BJP
The state authorities has repeatedly accused the Opposition of politicising the occasion. However the opposition Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) needs to make use of Sandeshkhali as a referendum on the TMC authorities’s grip on legislation and order within the state. Various nationwide panels — together with the Nationwide Fee of Girls, the Nationwide Fee of Scheduled Castes and the Nationwide Fee of Scheduled Tribes — have visited the realm and later mentioned that they documented severe allegations in opposition to Sheikh and his associates.
After the assault on ED, three FIRs have been registered by the police — the primary on the premise of a criticism by ED’s deputy director, the second a suo motu case, and a 3rd in opposition to ED on the premise of a criticism lodged by the caretaker of Shahjahan’s home.
The 45-year-old strongman is at present in CID custody, booked below a number of sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), together with 353 (utilizing prison pressure to discourage public servant), 333 (voluntarily inflicting grievous harm to public servant), 307 (try and homicide), 395 (dacoity) and 397 (inflicting grievous harm with weapons throughout dacoity amongst others.
Within the excessive courtroom on Tuesday, advocate normal Kishore Datta argued that the state CID was inspecting the allegations and added “all potential sections” in opposition to Shahjahan, together with IPC Part 307.
However the courtroom rejected the argument.
“The state police had performed a hide-and-seek methodology in all possibilities to defend the accused who undoubtedly is a extremely politically influential one who has demonstrably proven that he’s and can be able to affect the investigation if allowed to relaxation with the state police,” the order mentioned.
The division bench famous that it had on February 7 stayed a single bench order constituting a particular investigation crew and restrained the West Bengal police from continuing with the probe within the instances registered by them in reference to the assault on ED officers.
The bench mentioned that regardless of such an order, the case stood transferred to the state CID and so they issued notices to the ED officers.
“Thus, this act of the state police can be adequate to carry that the state police are completely biased and each try is being made to delay the investigation with the intention to defend the accused who has been absconding for greater than 50 days,” the bench noticed.
The courtroom famous that Shahjahan was a “strongman” within the locality and loved highly effective connections.
The order sparked a political controversy.
“The Hon’ble Calcutta excessive courtroom has as soon as once more uncovered the failed state of West Bengal and its compromised police equipment by transferring the CID investigation pertaining to assault on ED Officers at Sandeshkhali and Bongaon to the CBI. I wholeheartedly welcome the decision of the Hon’ble first division bench of the Calcutta excessive courtroom,” chief of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari posted on X.
“I received’t wish to remark on this because the state authorities and administration is wanting into it. There are numerous levels within the judiciary. If an order or a route has been given, there’s scope to problem it within the larger courtroom or bench,” Kunal Ghosh, TMC chief, informed reporters.