Bengal Government Challenges CBI Probe Into Sandeshkhali Case in Supreme Court

This comes hours after the CBI – which is also investigating the January 5 attack on an Enforcement Directorate team – conducted a raid on hideouts linked to suspects in that case. In the aftermath of that attack, in which ED officials were hurt – the Trinamool strongman went on the run (and stayed hidden for nearly two months).

The attack on the ED team triggered a furious political row – particularly since the general election, then, was just weeks away – with the BJP and even the Congress (on paper a Trinamool ally) ripping into Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government for delays in arresting Sheikh Shahjahan. Shahjahan, who was earlier being investigated by the ED for money laundering in the ration and land scams that have rocked Bengal politics – was eventually arrested on February 29, 2004.

The Trinamool was accused by the BJP of shielding Shahjahan, who was arrested only after the High Court’s explicit direction; this was after contentious comments by Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee, who claimed the state could not arrest Shahjahan because the court had “tied (police’s) hands”. The BJP has also fielded one of the women who alleged sexual assault by Shahjahan – Rekha Patra – as a candidate from the Basirhat seat, which includes Sandeshkhali.

The Trinamool hit back by pointing to ex-wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Singh, a sitting BJP MP accused of sexual assault by women wrestlers. Amidst all this, earlier this month the Bengal government received a stern reprimand from the state’s High Court Thursday as it heard affidavits seeking probes into the Sandeshkhali allegations.

A bench led by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam said the state could not shirk accountability in the event the allegations are found to be true. *NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels.