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ED officials attacked in Bengal after arresting TMC leader
Meanwhile,the Bengal police have registered one FIR against the ED on the basis of a complaint which alleged that the agency officials had tried to enter the house of a TMC leader without proper documents
Kolkata: Officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were attacked by a mob in two incidents within a span of a few hours in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas after they arrested a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader late on Friday night for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal.
A team of the federal agency arrested TMC leader Shankar Adhya, a former chairman of the Bongaon municipality in North 24 Parganas and a close associate of arrested state food minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, from his residence.
“Adhya was questioned and his house was searched for around 17 hours before he was arrested. A special court sent him to 14 days judicial custody on Saturday,” said an ED official.
When the ED team, accompanied by central force personnel, was leaving Adhya’s house in the early hours of Saturday after arresting him, a mob attacked them. Even though none was injured, a vehicle of the federal agency was damaged when the mob pelted stones. Central force personnel chased the mob with their lathis to disperse them.
Earlier on Friday morning, an 800-member mob attacked a separate ED team when the agency officials went to search the house of a TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh, who is also known to share close links with Mallick, at Sandeshkhali around 80 km away in the same district on the Indo-Bangladesh border.
“Three ED officers were injured when they were attacked at Sandeshkhali during a raid and had to be rushed to the hospital on Friday. The mob snatched official and personal belongings including laptop, wallets and cash,” said an ED official.
A senior police officer said that none could be arrested till Saturday evening. A few persons have been detained for questioning. Police have registered three FIRs.
“One FIR was registered against the ED on the basis of a complaint lodged by the caretaker of Shahjahan’s house in which he alleged that the agency officials tried to enter the house without proper documents. A second FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint lodged by the ED. A third FIR was suo moto registered by the police against unknown persons for attacking officers of the central agency,” said an officer.
The ED is learnt to have sent a written complaint on email to the Director General of Police (DGP) in West Bengal and to the superintendent of police (SP) of Basirhat district in connection with the attack on its officials at Sandeskhali. It was also learnt the federal agency issued a look out notice against Shahjahan Sheikh.
An ED statement issued on Friday night had stated that Shahjahan was present in the house when the federal agency went looking for him and was attacked by the mob. Agency officials also claimed that Shahjahan tried to crossover to Bangladesh.
“The attempt failed because as there is election in Bangladesh, security along the international border has been heightened by border guarding agencies of both countries. A lookout notice has been issued against him and sent to all airports in India,” said an ED official.
The ED had earlier claimed that they first came across the name of Adhya in a document seized from Mallick’s daughter.
On Saturday when Adhya was being produced in the Bankshal court, the ED told the court that the ration distribution scam was worth at least ₹10,000 crore and around ₹2,700 crore have already been invested in foreign countries including the United Aran Emirates (UAE). ED suspects Adhya was into illegal forex trade.
“I would just request the investigating agency with folded hands that they should take the probe in the right direction. They shouldn’t frame me in false cases,” Adhya told reporters after being produced in the court.
This has triggered a political slugfest in the state with the ruling TMC and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party trading barbs.
“He (Shahjahan) has nowhere to hide. On Friday he was planning to flee to Barisal in Bangladesh. But we have a friendly government there. So, there is nothing to worry. He would meet his fate,” Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA, told reporters.
“The proceeds of crime of various scams are being sent out of the country through Bangladesh and then Dubai. It then comes back to the state. The attack on ED revealed how desperate the TMC was to suppress things,” Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress MP, told the media.
“ED should mend its way of functioning. Incident may take place if they secretly go somewhere without informing the local administration. The local police should be involved,” said Saugata Roy, TMC MP.
