Ending a two-day stand-off between the Bengal Government and the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Central agency finally managed to take suspended Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan – the key accused in the Sandeshkhali extortion, land grab, and sexual assault cases – into its custody on Wednesday evening.
For the second day running, the CID tried its best to delay or deny the hand over. The CBI team and its Central armed force escorts waited at the CID headquarters Bhabani Bhavan from 3:44 pm, keeping in mind the fresh deadline of 4:15 pm set by Calcutta High Court. However, Sheikh Shahjahan was whisked away by the CID through a back gate and taken to SSKM Hospital for a routine medical check-up at about 5:30pm. He was later brought back and then finally handed over to the CBI at 6:45pm.
Shahjahan was taken first by the CBI to the Central Government-run ESI Hospital at Joka in the southern outskirts of the city and then was brought to the State headquarters of the CBI at Nizam Palace in South Kolkata.
On Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court had ordered the State CID to hand over Shahjahan, and all case materials to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The State was given a deadline till 4.30 pm but it refused to comply, citing the excuse of a special leave petition which was supposed to be filed before the Supreme Court, which had refused an urgent hearing.
When the CBI team reached Bengal Police’s HQ in Kolkata, they were forced to return empty-handed after a two-hour wait. 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 in disregarding an order passed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, and said: “The Supreme Court has not ordered a stay. So Shahjahan must be handed over to the CBI by 4.15 pm…”. The Division Bench of Justice Harish Tandon 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 State 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 observed.
Yesterday, the Enforcement Directorate had announced that its Kolkata office had “provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs. 12.78 Crore in the form of 14 immovable properties in the nature of apartment, agriculture land, land for fishery, land and building etc. in Gram Sarberia, Sandeshkhali and Kolkata and two bank accounts under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 in the matter of Shahjahan Sheikh and others”.
Sheikh Shahjahan had been evading authorities since January 5 when a group of Enforcement Directorate officials was assaulted by his supporters while en route to conduct raids. His disappearance and the assault triggered a significant political controversy, with the BJP accusing the ruling Trinamool party, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, of shielding him.
After 55 days on the run, Shahjahan was apprehended by a special police team and expelled from the Trinamool Congress for six years. His arrest followed three days after the High Court issued an order for his apprehension.