ED moves Calcutta HC as Mamata's police denies Shajahan Sheikh's custody to CBI

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday moved the Calcutta High Court again against the West Bengal government for not handing over suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh's custody to the CBI, a highly placed source said.

The development came in the wake of the ED mentioning before high court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam in the evening that the state CID did not comply with the court's order to hand the accused over to the CBI by 4.30 pm on Tuesday. The Chief Justice asked the agency's counsel to move an application before the court on Wednesday, the source said.

Acting on the court order, CBI officials reportedly waited for over two hours at the CID headquarters in Bhavani Bhawan for Sheikh's custody but returned empty-handed after the state agency cited the West Bengal government moving the Supreme Court on the matter.

"We have not handed him over to CBI as the Mamata Banerjee government has moved the supreme court," a CID official said.

Earlier in the day, a division bench presided by the Chief Justice had directed the transfer of investigation to the CBI into a mob attack on ED officials when they went to search the premises of Sheikh in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on January 5 in connection with a ration scam probe.

Following the arrest of Sheikh on February 29 by the state police in connection with the attack, the Mamata Banerjee government handed over the matter to the CID.

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to hand over to the CBI the case of mob attack on ED officials at Sandeshkhali and the custody of suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, while slamming the West Bengal Police for "totally biased" conduct and said every attempt was being made to delay the probe to "protect" the accused.

Within hours of the HC acceding to the ED's request, the Bengal government moved the Supreme Court challenging the order but an apex court bench refused an urgent listing of the plea and asked the state's counsel to mention the matter before the Registrar General instead.