ED team searches house of missing TMC leader, summons him on Jan 29

Sheikh Shahjahan, who has been accused of orchestrating the attack on the ED team on January 5, has been on the run

KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday returned to carry out searches at the residence of Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, 19 days after its team was assaulted by a mob during its first attempt to search the premises in connection with the alleged ration distribution scam, people familiar with the matter said.

The ED team did not find any cash on the premises during their six-hour-long search on Wednesday. (ANI videograb)

The ED team did not find any cash on the premises during their six-hour-long search on Wednesday.

Sheikh Shahjahan, who has been accused of orchestrating the attack on the ED team on January 5, has been on the run. The house was locked when the ED team reached the house in the Sandeshkhali area, escorted by a large contingent of central police personnel. A state police officer said the ED team hired a locksmith to open the doors.

The team left after six hours, and pasted a notice on the entrance that summoned Shahjahan to appear at the ED office in Kolkata on January 29 for questioning, an officer of the federal agency said on condition of anonymity.

On January 17, the Calcutta high court ordered the formation of a special investigation team (SIT), comprising an equal number of officers from both the West Bengal Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to trace Shahjahan Sheikh for the attack.

According to ED, about 800-1,000 supporters of the TMC leader attacked ED officials and 27 paramilitary personnel accompanying them with sticks, stones and bricks, while shouting slogans against the agency and the central government. ED vehicles were also badly damaged, the ED statement issued after the unprecedented attack said.

To be sure, ED filed a request on January 22 saying that the state police should not be part of the special team and that it wants only the CBI should conduct the probe. The petition is yet to be taken up by the court.

Shahjahan is considered to be a close aide of state minister Jyotipriyo Mallick, who was arrested on money laundering charges in connection with the ration scam on October 27 last year. Seven people have been arrested so far in the case.

According to ED, subsidised grain meant for the public distribution system (PDS) was siphoned to the open market for sale when Mallick was Bengal’s food minister between 2011 - when TMC came to power for the first time – and 2021.

On December 12, ED filed its first chargesheet in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) which named Mallick, rice mill owner and hotelier Bakibur Rahaman and 10 shell companies.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shankar Adhya, a former chairman of Bongaon municipality in North 24 Parganas district, was arrested on January 6. Adhya is accused of being linked, directly or indirectly, to 90 foreign currency exchange agencies and around ₹1,000 crore is suspected to have been siphoned out of India only through one of these, the ED claimed before a Kolkata court on Saturday during a hearing.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that Shahjahan was being sheltered by the ruling party. “Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is also in charge of the home department. Is it possible for Shahjahan to stay in hiding for 19 days without the knowledge of the police? He is being protected,” said Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar.

CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said: “Why did ED visit Shahjahan’s home 19 days after the attack? What was it doing all these days? The operation smacks of a tacit understanding between TMC and BJP.”

Asked for her comment on Wednesday’s searches, the chief minister said: “They will go to your place tomorrow.”