A day after three officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were allegedly attacked by a mob at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, during a search at the residence of Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh, the ED issued a lookout notice for Mr. Sheikh.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Police on Saturday registered a first information report (FIR) against ED officers for trying to break into the house of Mr. Sheikh without a warrant.
The ED raid was in connection with the public distribution system (PDS) scam and last year, the Central agency had arrested West Bengal Forest Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick in the case. “During further investigation it has been found that PoC [proceeds of crime] was laundered by Mallick through his various close associates including some persons who are primarily engaged in business of FFMC [full-fledged money changers],” an ED press statement said, adding that its officers had searched three premises linked to Mr. Sheikh in the case.
The Central agency also added that when the search team arrived at one of the premises, the residence of Mr. Sheikh, its door was locked from inside and Mr. Sheikh had “refused to open the door”. It said its officers, with the assistance of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, were trying to get the door opened, and had attempted to contact the “person concerned”.
The ED also stated that a complaint was filed with the jurisdictional police for registration of FIR and necessary action against culprits. The health condition of the three ED officers who were injured in the mob attack improved and they were stable.
Criticism from INDIA allies
The alleged mob attack on the ED team and mediapersons not only drew criticism from the BJP, but also the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which are part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) with Trinamool. The BJP State unit demanded that Trinamool leaders arrested by Central agencies in connection with various scams be lodged in jails outside the State.
“There is only one alternative. Central agencies should remove all Trinamool leaders arrested in various scams from the State and lodge them in prisons outside Bengal so that the ruling party cannot conspire to foment mob violence in the name of protest against investigations into corruption cases,” State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said.
Meanwhile, the ED in the early hours of Saturday arrested former Bongaon Municipality Chairman Shankar Adhya in connection with the alleged PDS scam. The ED along with Central forces faced resistance while taking the Trinamool leader into custody. Mr. Adhya was taken to a hospital in Kolkata for a medical examination.
