The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has submitted two FIRs filed against Trinamul Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan at the Basirhat Sub-Divisional Court in West Bengal’s North 24-Parganas district in connection with the 5 January attack on ED and CAPF personnel in Sandeshkhali.
A CBI team today conducted raids at the former residence at Sarberia and also visited Basirhat police station to take custody of the documents related to the 5 January case, allegedly filed by the officers of the said police station suo-motu.
Meanwhile, ED deputy director, who was assaulted on 5 January during raids at Sarberia, Sandeshkhali, today visited Nizam Palace, the CBI office in Kolkata and was huddled with officers of the CBI and exchanged information related to its raids on the fateful day and the alleged seizures that the ED had made aftermath following raids after the alleged fiasco.
A source in the know claimed that sleuths were examining closely the call detail records (CDR) of Shahjahan’s phone to see how many calls and to whom he had made that day.
The ED officers had claimed that calls made to Shahjahan on the day of the raid had indicated his alleged location at his home.
The development on Thursday is important because after a high-drama the CBI sleuths ultimately got the physical custody of Shahjahan from the CID-West Bengal on Wednesday evening. The prompt submission of the FIRs at the district court, sources said, is a clear indication that the CBI sleuths want to act very fast in its investigation in the matter without wasting a single day.
At the same time, since Shahjahan has to be presented at the same district court at the end of his current custody, the CBI sleuths followed the protocol of submitting the copies of the FIRs registered by them in the matter to the same court.
The CBI has filed a total of three FIRs in the two cases of attacks on ED and CAPF officials. Out of the three FIRs, one is against Shahjahan.
The other FIRs are against another Trinamul Congress leader from Bongaon, Shankar Adhya, who is already in judicial custody in connection with the ration distribution case.
On the night of 5 January, while the ED sleuths were taking away Adhya from his residence at Bangaon after arresting him, the latter’s followers attacked the ED sleuths and also made an attempt to prevent them from taking him.
Both Adhya and Shahjahan are known to be close associates of former food & supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick, who is also in judicial custody in the ration distribution case.