Edited by Deepali Verma
Recent update from the Enforcement Directorate is the arrest of former Bongaon municipality chairperson Shankar Adhya earlier on January 6 in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam in West Bengal, as reported by news agency PTI on January 5. The arrest comes right after a team of the probe agency was attacked by a mob during a raid at the residence of Trinamool Congress leader Sahajahan Sheikh at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal.
Meanwhile, a senior ED officer said on January 5 that the officers are preparing two different sets of reports concerning the attacks on their colleagues by a mob during a raid at the residence of a Trinamool Congress leader in West Bengal, as reported by news agency PTI.
The officers further stated that the reports dealing with the incident will be sent to their New Delhi office by Saturday, and the decision on the next course of action will be taken after due deliberations by their seniors there.
“We are preparing two sets of reports dealing with the attack on our team during the raid at Trinamool Congress leader Sahajahan Sheikh’s residence at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas. We will give a detailed account of the attack, including how we were forced to abandon the assignment and flee from the place, and the damage to our vehicles. We will also attach photographs and video grabs of the attack,” the official told PTI.
ED Teams Continued Raids In Ration Scam
Other teams of the probe agency continued conducting raids in connection with the ongoing probe into the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal, despite the mob attack on the different ED team. Other teams carried their operations until late evening.
The ED officers, conducting raids at the residence of the in-laws of the TMC leader and former chairman of Bongaon municipality, along with two of his associates, left after 12 hours, as per the reports of PTI. The officers collected a few documents along with the bank details and spoke to the locals.
Search operations at two other places, such as an ice cream factory owned by a close aide of the TMC leader in Bongaon, continued until 10pm, the official said. “We had to bear a lot of non-cooperation from the local residents which is why it took so much time for us to complete the search operations,” he said, as quoted by PTI.
Raids were still in progress at an apartment in the southern part of the city’s Bijoygarh area in connection with the same scam, he added. The probe agency officers conducted search operations in at least 15 places in West Bengal in connection with the ration scam.
ED Team Attacked In Sandeshkhali
An Enforcement Directorate team was attacked that left its vehicles damaged by a mob during a raid at the residence of TMC leader Sahajahan Sheikh at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal. The ED officers were to conduct an investigation into an alleged ration distribution scam when they faced resistance from Sajahan’s supporters, resulting in injuries to several officers and damage to their vehicles.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed that three of its officers suffered “grievous” injuries in the mob attack and that their personal belongings, such as mobile phones and wallets, were reportedly snatched.
