Kolkata: The Calcutta Excessive Court docket Tuesday ordered a CBI investigation into the 5 January assault on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers whereas they have been conducting raids at Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Sheikh Shahjahan’s residence close to Sandeshkhali — a serious setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal authorities.
Whereas passing the order, Chief Justice of Calcutta Excessive Court docket T. S. Sivagnanam additionally ordered the state police-led CID handy over Shahjahan’s custody to the central company by 4.30 pm.
CBI officers, below the safety cowl of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), reached the CID headquarters in Kolkata to take over custody of Shahjahan moments after the Calcutta Excessive Court docket order. Nonetheless, the CBI group left the CID workplace nearly two hours later, with out the strongman.
The West Bengal authorities has now sought a keep on the CBI investigation earlier than the Supreme Court docket, which is prone to come up for listening to Wednesday. For now, Sheikh Shahjahan stays within the CID’s custody in Kolkata.
The switch of the assault on ED officers case to the CBI is a blow to the state as a result of to date, the state police have been investigating all instances towards Sheikh Shahjahan together with the assault on the ED officers. With Tuesday’s HC order, the chief justice has shifted the duty of the probe solely to the CBI, eliminating the state police’s position fully.
By the way, the West Bengal authorities had earlier withdrawn normal consent to the CBI, which basically signifies that to conduct an investigation inside Bengal, the CBI must search consent from the state authorities.
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Pitiable state of affairs: HC
The Calcutta Excessive Court docket’s Tuesday order, seen by ThePrint, acknowledged, “Now we have no hesitation in our thoughts to carry that this confidence has been shaken and there may be no higher case than the case readily available which requires to be transferred to be investigated by CBI. It’s a pitiable state of affairs once we hear the allegation made by ED that they weren’t even given the copy of the FIR registered based mostly on their criticism…they usually have been in a position to safe a licensed copy solely after they filed the writ petition.”
The ED claimed earlier than the excessive court docket that regardless of looking for an FIR below IPC Part 307 IPC (try to homicide) for the assault on its officers, the police didn’t embrace the part. The central company additionally alleged that the police didn’t share a duplicate of the FIR until the time it filed an affidavit in court docket. Whereas the deputy director of the ED, Kolkata zone, filed a criticism concerning his officers coming below assault, the Nazat police station lodged a counter FIR towards ED officers.
“Thus, ED contended that their officers have been falsely implicated in FIR no. 7 on the behest of Shahjahan for political causes. Additional, it was contended that on account of affect of politically influential individuals, concerned within the rip-off of distribution of the ration gadgets, the state police with the intention to create strain and hamper the continuing investigation are taking all steps to thwart your entire course of,” the court docket’s 19-page order acknowledged.
It added: “It’s contended that any investigation by the state police could be as such neither goal nor truthful and may be termed a whole miscarriage of justice. On this factual background, ED looked for a switch of all of the instances to CBI.”
Sheikh Shahjahan & the assault on ED officers
Sheikh Shahjahan — a Trinamool district convenor who was arrested on 29 February and now stands suspended by the social gathering — and his aides have been accused by Sandeshkhali residents of land grabbing, extortion, political muscle-flexing and exploitation of girls.
After absconding for 55 days, Shahjahan, who was not solely going through the ire of Sandeshkhali, however has additionally been named because the prime accused within the 5 January assault on ED officers.
On 5 January, three ED officers sustained accidents and have been admitted in hospital after being attacked by a mob whereas conducting raids at Shahjahan’s residence in reference to the Public Distribution System (PDS) rip-off case.
Final month, the ED had moved the Calcutta Excessive Court docket looking for a keep on a single-bench order that constituted a joint Particular Investigation Group (SIT) of the CBI and the West Bengal police to probe the matter. Alleging police inaction, the ED moved the chief justice’s bench looking for instructions for less than the CBI to probe the matter.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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