The Calcutta High Court (HC) on Thursday has passed a stay on the FIRs lodged by West Bengal Police against the Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing the alleged ration distribution scam in the state. Justice Rajasekhar Mantha of the High Court ordered the interim stay on proceedings in connection with the FIRs till 31 March.

No investigation against the ED can be made till then. Justice Mantha directed the state government to submit an affidavit along with the case diary. Earlier in the day, another single Bench of Justice Jay Sengupta verbally directed that state police cannot take any coercive actions against the ED officials till Monday on the basis of the FIRs by this period.

Praying for quashing of the FIRs, the ED moved a petition before the HC alleging that the central investigating agency’s officers who were members of a team that raided the house of Trinamul Congress strongman and local leader Sheikh Shahjahan at Sarberia in Sandeshkhali of North 24- Parganas district on 5 January are now facing criminal cases registered by the state police on last Saturday. Sheikh Shahjahan is still absconding despite a lookout notice against him by the ED.

The investigating agency also stated that the belongings of their officials were also snatched during the attack. The ED sought the intervention of the HC and alleged that the state had not shared any copy of the FIRs that had been drawn up against the central agency. On 5 January, a violent mob beat up the ED officials and CRPF jawans when the investigators raided Shahjahan house at Sandeshkhali.

Three ED officials sustaining severe injuries were rushed to a private hospital at Salt Lake for emergency treatment. The state police lodged an FIR against the ED officials with the local Nazat police station. During the hearing, the ED lawyers alleged that police intentionally filed criminal cases against the investigating officers though they were attacked severely in Sandeshkhali. On the other hand, the state BJP unit, led by its president Sukanta Mazumder staged a protest on Thursday against the Sandeshkhali incident demanding arrest of Shahjahan immediately.

BJP supporters got into a scuffle with the police when the latter prevented them from marching towards the police station. Police claimed that the agitators were trying to march towards the police station, violating Section 144, imposed in the area.