West Bengal: ED to file FIR in Sandeshkhali assault case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will file an FIR in the incident of an attack on its officers by alleged loyalists of a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader during a raid in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Friday, sources said.

The federal agency will also seek strengthening of the security cover to its officials and offices present in the state, the sources added.

An official of the ED's eastern region establishment in Kolkata will file the FIR against the attackers. The CRPF personnel armed with INSAS rifles and polycarbonate sticks who accompanied the ED raiding party will also submit their statement to the police, they said. A report of the incident has been sent to the ED headquarters in Delhi, according to the sources.

The attack occurred when ED officers raided the residence of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan as part of an investigation into an alleged multi-crore ration distribution scam, and they reportedly faced attacks from his supporters, resulting in injuries to officers and damage to their vehicles.

Shahjahan is said to be a close aide of West Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick, who was arrested last year in connection with the alleged scam.

The tense situation reached boiling point as a large number of alleged TMC loyalists assaulted the ED officials and personnel of the central forces during the raid, forcing the officers to abandon their damaged vehicles and take autorickshaws and two-wheelers to reach a safe place. At least two officers sustained serious injuries, necessitating hospitalisation.

Recently in Tamil Nadu, the Union government had rushed armed personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) when officials of the state directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) searched the ED office in Madurai after arresting an agency officer in a bribery case, leading to a heated argument between the two sides.

In Jharkhand, a CISF security cover has been extended to an investigating officer and the Ranchi zonal office of the ED after central security agencies were informed about threats being issued to the officer by certain accused being probed by the agency.