Didi's Sheikh shaken as CBI gets his custody

Kolkata: The CBI on Wednesday got the custody of Sandeshkhali ED official attack case accused Shajahan Sheikh from the CID, after a fresh directive by the Calcutta High Court this morning. The Calcutta High Court had directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal police to hand over Sheikh Shahjahan, the accused mastermind behind the attack on ED and CAPF teams in Sandeshkhali on January 5, to the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by 4.15 p.m. on Wednesday.

Sheikh is close aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

A division bench of the high court presided over by Justice Harish Tandon gave this direction on Wednesday while hearing a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier in the day.

The bench maintained that the attempt by the state authorities to delay the process of handing over Shahjahan to CBI custody is indirectly an attempt to protect the accused.

It said the state government cannot delay the process when the Calcutta High Court has already passed an order on Tuesday for handing over the accused to the CBI.