ED to prepare two sets of reports on Sandeshkhali attack on officers

Kolkata: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers are preparing two sets of reports on the attacks on their colleagues by a mob during a raid at the residence of a TMC leader in West Bengal, a senior officer said on Friday.

The officers said the reports will be sent to their New Delhi office by Saturday, and their next course of action will be decided by their seniors there.

"We are preparing two sets of reports on Friday's attack on our team during the raid at Trinamool Congress leader Sahajahan Sheikh's residence at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas. We will include every detail of the attack, how we were forced to abandon the assignment and flee from the place, and the damage to our vehicles. We will also include photographs and video grabs of the attack," the official told PTI.

Meanwhile, other ED teams conducting raids in connection with the ongoing probe into the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal, continued their operations until late evening.

The ED officers, who conducted raids at the residence of the in-laws of the TMC leader and former chairman of Bongaon municipality, as well as two of his associates, left after 12 hours. They collected a few documents and bank details and spoke to the locals.

Search operations at two other places, including an ice cream factory belonging to a close aide of the TMC leader in Bongaon, continued until 10pm, he said.

"We faced a lot of non-cooperation from the local residents. That is the reason it took so much time for us to complete the search operations," he said.

Raids were still ongoing at an apartment in southern part of the city's Bijoygarh area in connection with the same scam, he added.

ED officers conducted search operations in at least 15 places in West Bengal in connection with the ration scam.

An Enforcement Directorate team was attacked and its vehicles damaged by a mob during a raid at the residence of TMC leader Sahajahan Sheikh at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal, sparking a political firestorm and a fierce condemnation by Governor CV Ananda Bose who said the state is not a "banana republic."

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said three of its officers suffered "grievous" injuries in the mob attack and that their personal belongings such as mobile phones and wallets were snatched.