The Calcutta High Court has reserved its judgment on Monday on the Enforcement Directorate's petition to transfer the investigation of the assault on ED officials, raiding TMC premises, from West Bengal police to the CBI. The hearing before the bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Shivagnanam concluded following extensive arguments from ED, the state, and CBI representatives.
SV Raju alleged that the state police exhibited bias and deliberately arrested Sheikh following the crowd's January assault on ED officers in Sandeshkhali after an ED FIR—noting that over 40 of Sheikh's cases have been pending for years.
Following Sheikh's arrest, the state government transferred the inquiry from Bashirhat police to CID. Raju argued that this move was to prevent Sheikh's CBI custody, even though the investigation had been transferred, given that the maximum period for police custody of an accused is 14 days.
State Attorney-General Kishore Dutta, opposing the transfer of investigation, claimed it was indeed the state police who rescued the ED officials and successfully secured a safe passage for them from Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas. The CBI's lawyer stated that if the court directs, the agency is ready to undertake the inquiry.
