In the Sandeshkhali case, raids were carried out in response to a mob attack on an ED team.
During its searches at several locations in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, on Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation retrieved firearms and ammunition, including foreign-made pistols, from a house in relation to an attack on an Enforcement Directorate team by a mob that was allegedly incited by the local leader of the Trinamool Congress, Sheikh Shahjahan. A CBI team is still conducting raids, excavating the interior of the home.
Nonetheless, the West Bengal government filed a case in the Supreme Court contesting the Calcutta high court’s ruling ordering a CBI investigation into the claims of sexual assault and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali. Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta of the Supreme Court will hear the case on April 29.
On January 5, the CBI had filed three FIRs in connection with the incidences per the high court of Calcutta’s directives. The CBI was directed to take up the investigation into multiple alleged offenses in the Sandeshkhali area by the high court, which had interfered. Illegal property purchases, acts of violence, and sexual assaults against women are purportedly among these offenses.
When the ED team went to raid Sheikh Shahjahan’s premises on January 5 in relation to an alleged ration scam, they were ambushed in Sandeshkhali, a riverine delta that borders the Sundarbans.
A sizable stash of weapons concealed in Sandeshkhali was discovered by the CBI during their investigation, according to news agency PTI. The weapons, including handguns made in other countries, were taken into custody on Friday morning after a CBI team launched a search operation, officials told PTI.
The CBI’s action coincides with mounting worries over Sandeshkhali’s declining state of law and order due to accusations of widespread criminal activity and the exploitation of weaker demographics.