In a major setback to the Mamata Banerjee government, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the attack on the Enforcement Directorate officials at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal on January 15.
The high court also handed over the custody of Shahjahan Sheikh, who was arrested by the state police on February 29 on charges of land grabbing and sexual atrocities on women, to the CBI.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam directed that the directions be complied with by 4.30 pm on Tuesday.
"The act of the state police would be sufficient to hold that the state police are totally biased and every attempt is being made to delay the investigation in order to protect the accused who has been absconding for more than 50 days," the bench observed.
Hours after the high court gave its order, the state government challenged it in the Supreme Court.
The ED team, which had arrived at Sandeshkhali to search the premises of Sheikh in a ration scam case, was attacked and chased away by a mob allegedly affiliated to the TMC leader on January 15.
Sheikh had been on the run for more than a month following the incident, even as several women in the village took to the streets alleging that the TMC leader and his followers had illegally stolen their land and had been sexually abusing them.
The case was being probed by the West Bengal Police.
On January 17, the high court ordered the formation of a special investigation team of the CBI and the state police to probe the mob attack on the ED officials. Both the ED and the West Bengal government, however, had filed separate appeals, challenging the order.
