Sandeshkhali Row: West Bengal Government Moves Supreme Court Against Calcutta HC Order Of Transferring Shahjahan Sheikh's Case To CBI

The West Bengal government approached the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court order that asked the state police to transfer the case of assault on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The ED officers were attacked when they went to raid the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh in a ration distribution scam in North 24 Parganas district's Sandeshkhali on 5 January 2024.

Sheikh had been on the run since then and was arrested by West Bengal Police last Thursday. He is also accused of land grabs and sexual assault along with other local TMC Leaders by Sandeshkhali's women.

While representing the Mamata Banerjee-led government, lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi sought an urgent hearing, the matter was asked to be mentioned before the Registrar General of the Supreme Court by Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.

The High Court had favoured the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea seeking the transfer of the case of assault on its officers. It also asked the West Bengal Police to hand over the custody of Sheikh to the CBI along with relevant case files.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accusing the TMC of saving Sheikh, earlier over his delayed arrest and then over his "scripted" arrest a day after the Calcutta High Court allowed CBI and ED to arrest Sheikh.

The state government's latest move to the Supreme Court adds to those allegations. The West Bengal government had appealed to the Calcutta High Court to transfer the case to its police, reversing its 17 January order.