Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court Wednesday allowed the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal to probe seven Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials named in a police case in connection with the custodial death of Lalan Sheikh, a prime accused in the murder of local Trinamool Congress leader Bhadu Sheikh in Birbhum district.
Sheikh was found hanging in the washroom of CBI’s temporary camp office at Rampurhat Monday afternoon (12 December). His wife, Reshma Bibi, filed a complaint against CBI officials Tuesday (13 December).
Justice Jay Sengupta directed the CID to record statements of CBI officials on-camera but not take any coercive steps against the central agency’s officers. The single bench of Calcutta High Court also ordered a second postmortem of Sheikh at the central government-run AIIMS Kalyani Hospital in the state.
Also read: Hours after TMC leader Saket Gokhale’s arrest, Paresh Rawal gets summons for ‘Bengali’ jibe
CBI vs CID
The CBI moved the Calcutta High Court hours after the CID took over the investigation of Sheikh’s custodial death.
Rampurhat Police had lodged an FIR on the same day the incident took place against the seven senior CBI officials, including its deputy inspector general (DIG), under sections 448 (trespassing), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 302 (murder), 385 (committing extortion), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 509 (insult modesty of woman), 427 (mischief) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code.
In court, the CBI claimed that the police complaint against the seven officers was filed because they are investigating an alleged cattle smuggling scam that allegedly involves Anubrata Mondal, TMC’s Birbhum president.
Mondal was arrested in the cattle smuggling probe by the CBI.
“The complaint is manufactured because Anubrata Mondal was arrested by two investigating officers named in the FIR — Sushanta Bhattacharya and Swarup Dey. An attempt is being made to mix the cases and reap benefits. The CBI is investigating very sensitive cases in West Bengal and so the state is trying to be hostile to not let the CBI probe properly,” said CBI’s counsel DP Singh.
A team of CID officers, headed by IGP Sunil Kumar Choudhury, reached the temporary CBI camp in Rampurhat Wednesday. The CID has taken the case diary from Rampurhat Police Station and is likely to start questioning the CBI officials.
Political row over custodial death
Addressing a press conference in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had Tuesday condemned the incident. “If the CBI is so smart why is the prime accused dead…that too in their custody? We will raise the issue,” she said.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, meanwhile, told ThePrint, “Birbhum is a TMC stronghold, if anyone benefits from Sheikh’s death, that would be the TMC. It’s a conspiracy and the truth must come out. Why will the CBI kill an accused person.”
BJP leader Rahul Sinha said, “While CID can investigate the CBI, coercive steps cannot be taken against CBI. This proves that CID is a political tool of the West Bengal government and the HC has no confidence in them. Else the honourable court wouldn’t have set conditions before the CID.”
Also read: Learning ‘national’ lessons from AAP? Mamata to visit Meghalaya, hold talks for poll strategies