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Kolkata: On Thursday, an official said that the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids in connection to Sandeshkhali over land grabbing allegations at several locations in West Bengal North 24 Parganas district against Trinamool Congress strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates.
Today, Probe agency officials are accompanied by paramilitary personnel, including women’s forces. The raids comes just days after Shahjahan, who also faces allegations of sexual abuse, was arrested by the Bengal police.
The allegations by residents of Sandeshkhali, an island in Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, have raised a political storm in the state. Several teams of the Enforcement Directorate reached Sandeshkhali around 6:30 am.
While one team was raiding Sheikh Shahjahan’s brick klin, another team was conducting searches in the Dhamakhali area in Sandeshkhali. Shahjahan, who is at the centre of these allegations, was arrested last month after he was on the run for 55 days.
Official said that the CBI on Monday arrested three alleged associates of Sheikh Shahjahan, including his security guard, in connection with the January 5 attack on an Enforcement Directorate team. On one occasion, the state cops refused to hand him over, pointing to the state government’s challenge to the high court in Supreme Court.
The high court, however, held that its order had not been paused and directed Bengal police to hand over Shahjahan to CBI. The CBI had also summoned nine aides and associates of Sheikh Shahjahan for questioning in the case on Monday.
