Bangladesh Supreme Court suffers setback, probe against Sheikh Shah Jahan remains by CBI

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today dismissed a challenge to the Calcutta High Court’s order to hand over the attack on a team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Sandeshkari to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation, raising concerns about Mamata It is a setback for the Banerjee government. On January 5, a team of Education Department officials were attacked by thugs while visiting the island to search properties linked to local strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.

Justice BR Gavai and Justice Sandeep Mehta also questioned why the Trinamool Congress government took 50 days to arrest Shah Jahan. The now expelled Trinamool leader has been detained by the CBI. In addition to cases related to the emergency room attack, the strongman and his aides face charges of land grabbing, extortion and sexual harassment.

The high court last week asked Bangladesh police to hand over Shah Jahan’s custody to a central agency. It also hit state police hard. The Supreme Court today deleted the High Court’s opinion on Bangladesh Police.

In response to a Supreme Court query on why it took 50 days to arrest the strongman, Bangladesh police said the high court had ordered a stay of investigation. Jaideep Gupta, a senior lawyer appearing for the Bangladesh government, told the court: “The investigation was suspended. We went back to court and asked for clarification. It was clarified. Within a day, he was arrested.” “To say that state police are delaying an investigation … such accusations are very damaging,” he said.

Solicitor General SV Raju, who opposes the Bengal government, mentioned the January 5 incident. “In a case involving multi-crore rupee ration scam, ED officials went to the house of the main accused. The door was not opened and they were beaten. They tried to downplay the case and as far as the attack was concerned” ED officials are worried . They filed other cases. That’s why the investigation has been put on hold,” he said. Lawyers for the center said there was “no serious effort” by Bangladeshi police to enter Shah Jahan’s residence.

“There were several cases of harassment against him. He had been sheltered by local police and politicians. He was unavailable for 57 days. Then overnight he appeared,” he said. Mr. Raju also questioned the state government’s assertion that the suspension of investigation prevented the state police from arresting Shah Jahan.

Senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, also appearing for the Bengal government, pointed to the high court’s remarks against the state police. When Mr Raju said the observations might be deleted, Mr Singhvi replied: “If these observations are deleted, then what is the reason?”

“The observations made against the police and the state government are deemed expunged,” the court said.

The accusations made by residents of Sandeshkhali Island in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district have triggered a political storm in the state. Shah Jahan, who is at the center of the accusations, was arrested last month after 55 days on the run. What followed was a dramatic tug-of-war between central agencies and the state police over the custody of the strongman.

At one point, state police refused to hand him over, citing a state challenge in the Supreme Court. The high court, however, held that its order was not suspended and directed the Bangladesh police to hand over Shah Jahan to the CBI.