In a significant development, the Calcutta High Court has formed a joint Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Bengal police to investigate the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers in Sandeshkhali. The HC rejected ED’s request for a CBI probe. The SIT, monitored by the HC, will be led by a CBI Superintendent of Police and an Islampore police superintendent. The team will include an equal number of CBI and state police officers. The SIT has been directed to submit its report by February 12. Both ED and CBI are considering legal advice to challenge the order.
The attack on ED officers happened during a search operation at the residence of Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali. The officers were investigating an alleged Rs 550-crore ration scam. A mob of 200 people attacked them, leading to the need for a thorough investigation into the incident.
Justice Jay Sengupta, in his order, expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing police investigation and stressed the importance of collaboration between central and state agencies. While acknowledging the effectiveness of the CBI in dealing with inter-state or inter-country measures, he highlighted Bengal’s constitutional obligation to uphold the rule of law and prevent anarchy or mobocracy.
The Trinamool Congress welcomed the order by the HC, stating that if the state had been kept in the loop, the attack on the ED team could have been pre-empted. The party believes that joint collaboration between central and state agencies is crucial to maintaining law and order.
The HC also criticized both the police and the ED for their failure to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan, the prime accused in the case, who has been evading authorities since January 5. The court questioned the ED’s selective transfer request of some cases related to the Sandeshkhali probe to the CBI.
In addition, the HC intervened in a case related to the killing of three BJP workers on June 6, 2019, and stayed the proceedings in a subordinate court where Sheikh Shahjahan is among the accused. Justice Sengupta issued the stay until a single bench hears the pending litigation related to the Sandeshkhali attack, with Sheikh Shahjahan as the prime accused.
This decision by the Calcutta HC to form a joint SIT reflects the necessity for a comprehensive investigation into the attack on ED officers. With the SIT comprising both the CBI and Bengal police, it is expected that the truth behind the incident will be unearthed, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
