ED attaches Shajahan Sheikh's assets worth Rs 12 cr

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it has attached over a dozen properties worth Rs 12.78 crore of suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh including bank deposits, an apartment, and agricultural and fishery land in Sandeshkhali and Kolkata in West Bengal.

A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach these assets, the agency said in a statement.

A team of ED officials was attacked by a nearly 1,000-strong mob on January 5 when they went to raid Sheikh's house at Sandeshkhali in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

The strongman allegedly has close links with arrested former state food minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, who is being probed by the federal agency in a money laundering case linked to the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal.

Sheikh was arrested on February 29 by the West Bengal Police in the ED attack case, 55 days after he went underground following the alleged assault on the ED team.

The TMC had suspended him from the party after the arrest.

The money laundering case of the ED stems from a state police FIR that booked him and some others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and West Bengal State Highways Act.

These charges include those registered for committing heinous offences in the nature of giving threats of injury, murder, attempt to murder, extortion, grabbing land of general public etc, the ED said.

'Proceeds of crime acquired by Shajahan Sheikh by commission of criminal activities relating to scheduled offences as mentioned in above FIRs are being held, possessed, disguised and concealed by Shajahan Sheikh in the form of various movable and immovable properties,' it said.

The provisionally attached assets of Sheikh include 14 immovable properties like an apartment, agriculture and fishery land, in Sarberia, Sandeshkhali and Kolkata apart from two bank accounts, the agency said.

The total value of these assets is Rs 12.78 crore, it said.

The Calcutta high court on Tuesday directed that the ED attack case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigaiton (CBI).

The court slammed the West Bengal Police for 'totally biased' conduct and said every attempt is being made to delay the probe to 'protect' the accused.

Within hours of the HC acceding to the ED's request, the West Bengal government moved the Supreme Court challenging the order but an apex court bench refused an urgent listing and asked the counsel to mention the matter before the Registrar General.

Sheikh is also the prime accused in alleged sexual atrocities against women and land grabbing at Sandeshkhali.

The court said that Sheikh, who absconded soon after the attack on the ED team, is stated to be a 'strong man' in the locality and has very powerful connections in the ruling party apart from having been elected on a TMC ticket as a Karmadhaksya of the North 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad.