West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday said that the state chief secretary (CS) and home secretary (HS) have clarified reasons behind the delay in arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan, Trinamul Congress leader and North 24-Parganas zilla parishad member.

The leader has been absconding since the incident of mob attack on the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the alleged ration distribution scam of more than Rs 10,000 crore in the state on last Friday at Sarberia in Sandeshkhali. The ED officials escorted by CRPF jawans had raided Shahjahan’s residence at Sarberia to search documents regarding his alleged involvement in the scam.

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While speaking to reporters’ questions on Shahjahan today, Mr Bose said, “Both the chief secretary and home secretary have clarified me the reasons behind the delay in his arrest. I won’t divulge anything about it for the sake of ongoing investigations.” “Besides Sandeshkhali incident, several other important issues have also been discussed in the meeting. The discussions were positive because they, on behalf of the state, shared many important information,” the Governor told reporters.

A day after the Sandeshkhali incident Mr Bose had asked B P Gopalika, CS, and Nandini Chakraborty, HS, to meet him at Raj Bhavan and sought detailed reports in connection with the attack on the officials of the central investigating agency. Mr Gopalika and Mrs Chakraborty met him at Raj Bhavan on Thursday afternoon. The opposition came down heavily on Mamata Banerjee government after the ED officials were attacked by a mob at Sarberia. They also demanded immediate arrest of Shahjahan.