Kolkata: Trinamool Congress leader and Sandeshkhali strongman Sheikh Shahjahan was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday, but not before the ruling party made a desperate attempt to keep him with the West Bengal police.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) gave up Shahjahan after the Calcutta High Court issued a second deadline to the state government of 4.15 pm Wednesday.
Shahjahan was arrested on 29 February for the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers in January while they were on their way to question him in Bengal’s alleged ration scam. The central agency has pegged the swindle to be of Rs 10,000 crore and has jailed former Trinamool Congress minister Jyotipriya Mallick for it.
The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the case on the ED attack to be transferred to the CBI and asked the CID to hand over Shahjahan to the central agency by 4.30 pm. The Trinamool government immediately knocked the doors of the Supreme Court, but the matter was not listed for urgent hearing.
The now suspended TMC leader was, however, not given to the CBI even though officers waited for over two hours at the CID headquarters in Alipore.
As the ED moved the high court afresh on Wednesday alleging contempt of its verdict, another judge ordered the state government to “immediately implement” it.
Apart from the alleged ration scam, Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates are also accused of sexual harassment of Sandeshkhali women and land-grab in the island. A month after the attack on ED officials, scores of women had come forward to demand his arrest when he was on the run for 55 days.
Also read: ‘Intention to kill’, instil ‘immense fear’ — What CBI FIRs say about attack on ED officers in Bengal