Sandeshkhali Violence: Calcutta HC Transfers Investigation to CBI

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the investigation into an attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Sandeshkhali on January 5 from the West Bengal Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The court also mandated that the custody of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, arrested by the West Bengal police on February 29 in connection with the attack, be handed over to the central agency.

A bench of Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya directed compliance with the orders by 4.30 pm on Tuesday.

Both the ED and the West Bengal government filed separate appeals challenging a single bench order issued on January 17, which directed the formation of a joint special investigation team (SIT) comprising the CBI and the state police to investigate the mob attack on the ED officials.

While the ED sought the transfer of the probe solely to the CBI, the state urged that the investigation be solely conducted by the state police.

The TMC leader was apprehended by the state police the day after the high court decreed that Sheikh, also the primary accused in alleged sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing at Sandeshkhali, could be apprehended by the CBI, the ED, or the West Bengal Police.