Bengal: Police fail to record ED statement on assault of officers during raid

Kolkata: The West Bengal police on Wednesday could not record the statement of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer on the mob attack on the central agency’s officials during a raid on January 5, as the office-bearer concerned was "occupied", a state police officer said.

A state police team went to the ED office to record the statement of the deputy director, who filed a complaint with the police on the attack on the ED officials at Sandeshkhali when they went to search the premises of Trinamool Congress leader Sahajahan Sheikh.

The officer leading the police team said that they could not speak to the ED deputy director who filed the complaint as they were informed that he was busy.

"The complainant, deputy director of ED, is occupied," she told reporters while leaving the agency's office in Salt Lake here.

She said that notice was sent thrice to the ED and this was the second time that the police team visited its office but was unable to speak to the complainant on the Sandeshkhali incident.

The ED has said that three of its officials were injured and their mobile phones, laptops and wallets "looted" when they went to Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district to search the premises of Shajahan. The raid was in connection with the ration distribution scam.

Sahajahan is absconding and the ED has issued a look-out circular against him, alerting all land, air and sea ports to stop his exit from the country.

A second agency team was attacked and their vehicle was damaged during the arrest of another TMC leader, Shankar Adhya, in Bongaon of the said district on the same day.

Acting Director of the ED Rahul Navin visited Kolkata on Tuesday to take stock of the situation following the attacks on the agency officials.

The ED has lodged a complaint at the Nazat police station in connection with the assault. The family of the accused TMC leader Sahajahan Sheikh, and the state police have also registered separate complaints against the central probe agency.