Kolkata: A court here on Monday granted 13 days' Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Shajahan Sheikh, who was arrested by the central agency in connection with a money laundering case over alleged siphoning of money in the garb of pisciculture business in Sandeshkhali.
The now-suspended Trinamool Congress leader was arrested by the ED on Saturday in Basirhat jail, where he is lodged in connection with a case of mob assault on the agency's officials when they went to search his premises in Sandeshkhali on January 5 about another money laundering case.
Rejecting the bail prayer of Sheikh, the PMLA Court judge Suvendu Saha granted his custody to ED till April 13. Appearing for the agency before the court, advocate Arijit Chakrabarti prayed for Sheikh's ED custody to interrogate him on alleged siphoning of money derived from land grabbing from hapless villagers, in the garb of pisciculture business.
ED officials had been assaulted by a mob of nearly 1,000 people on January 5 when they went to search the premises of Sheikh at Sarberia village in North 24 Parganas district's Sandeshkhali in connection with a ration distribution scam case, in which a then minister was arrested by the agency.
Jyotipriya Mallick was the state's forest minister when he was arrested and held the Food and Supplies portfolio from 2011 to 2021. On an order of the Calcutta High Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the assault case, in which Sheikh has been accused of orchestrating the mob attack on the ED officials to prevent them from raiding his premises.
