Suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh was the key conspirator behind the alleged attack in January on Enforcement Directorate officials in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali village, said the Central Bureau of Investigation in a chargesheet filed on Tuesday, reported The Hindu.
On January 5, the officials of the Enforcement Directorate were allegedly attacked by a mob with stones, bricks and batons at Sandeshkhali in the state’s North 24 Parganas district. The attack occurred when the officials were raiding Sheikh’s house in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam.
Sheikh was arrested by the police on February 29. His custody was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation on March 6 on directions from the Calcutta High Court.
In the over 100-page chargesheet filed in a Basirhat court, the Central Bureau of Investigation has named seven accused, including Sheikh, his brother Alamgir, and his aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Deedar Baksh, reported The Indian Express.
While Hazra was arrested on February 17, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Baksh on March 11.
The chargesheet has been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Further investigation is underway.
Sheikh and his associates Hazra and Uttam Sardar have also been accused by a group of women in Sandeshkhali of sexual assault and land-grabbing. Sardar was arrested on February 11.
On February 29, Trinamool Congress suspended Sheikh for six years amid mounting pressure on the party to take action against its leader.
In February, the Enforcement Directorate filed a fresh case in connection with the allegations of land-grabbing. The report was filed after raids at six places, including two businessmen’s houses in Howrah and south Kolkata.
The central agency is also probing the alleged ration distribution scam in West Bengal. Earlier this month, assets worth Rs 14.28 crore belonging to Sheikh, Alamgir and his other associates were attached by the Enforcement Directorate, reported The Hindu.
The Enforcement Directorate’s investigation is based on 13 first information reports registered by the West Bengal Police under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act.
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