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Kolkata: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) intensified its crackdown on the Sandeshkhali ED assault case, arresting, Saifuddin Molla, another accused in the attack on ED and CAPF at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on January 5. Earlier, on March 11, three individuals, including a Panchayat Pradhan, were arrested, marking a significant step forward in unraveling the complexities of the case. These developments underscore the CBI’s resolve to ensure justice and maintain the rule of law.
Molla, a local grocery shop owner at Sandeshkhali is known to be a close confidant of now-suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, the alleged accused mastermind behind the attack.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials were attacked during an operation. The incident was widely condemned and the Supreme Court upheld the Calcutta High Court’s decision to call for a CBI investigation, highlighting the seriousness of attacks on law enforcement personnel.
The arrested men are believed to be linked to expelled TMC leader Shahjahan Shaikh, who was earlier arrested in connection with the same case, pointing to a wide network of criminal activities including land grab, extortion and alleged sexual offences. Is. The situation is tense in Sandeshkhali, with local women protesting against the atrocities committed by Sheikh and his associates.
Sources said following the interrogation of Shahjahan and other accused persons currently in CBI custody, the central agency learnt that Saifuddin Molla played a key role on January 5 in assembling the crowd which attacked the ED and CAPF personnel.
The CBI sleuths also learnt that on January 5 Saifuddin Molla did the networking job sitting from his grocery shop.
A team of CBI and CAPF reached Sandeshkhali escorting two other accused already in the custody of the central agency. Sources said that the two accused spotted the grocery shop owned by Saifuddin Molla. When the central agency sleuths reached the shop, the accused was sitting there.
After some initial interrogation, he was detained by the CBI sleuths.
Although not officially shown as “arrested” as yet, the CBI sleuths have started the process of taking him back to Kolkata for further interrogation at the agency’s Nizam Palace office in central Kolkata.
The Sandeshkhali ED assault case has far-reaching implications, from the immediate impact on law enforcement’s ability to perform its duties without fear of retaliation, to broader societal concerns over the rule of law and the integrity of public officials. The CBI’s actions send a strong message against violence and criminality, reinforcing faith in the justice system.
