Big win for Sandeshkhali women: WB Police hands over custody of accused Shahjahan Sheikh to CBI

Suspended Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan - the key accused in the Sandeshkhali extortion, land grab, and sexual assault cases - was transferred to the custody of the CBI Wednesday evening.

Expelled TMC leader and accused in the Sandeshkhali case Sheikh Shahjahan was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of Calcutta High Court to the Bengal government.

Earlier today, the High Court issued a contempt notice to the West Bengal CID and has asked for reply within two weeks after it failed to hand over Shahjahan to the central probing agency. The High Court said that the custody of the accused Sheikh Shahjahan should be handed over to CBI by 4.30 pm on Wednesday.

Teams from the CBI came at the state headquarters at 4:15 p.m. to take control of the Sandeshkhali case. Prior to this, the state government was also served with a contempt notice, which required immediate action. The government was ordered by the court to provide an affidavit outlining its defense against allegations of contempt within a fortnight. Sheikh was examined at SSKM Hospital on Wednesday night and then returned to Bhabani Bhaban Police Headquarters as part of the handover process.

A CBI team reached the CID office in Kolkata with paramilitary forces to take custody of Sheikh, who was arrested by the state police on February 29 in connection with the attack, but he was not handed over to the agency by the West Bengal police.

The West Bengal government had filed a challenge with the Supreme Court against the High Court's ruling, claiming that the law established by the highest court was broken by the "cursory" transfer of the Sandeshkhali case inquiry to the CBI. The state government was not granted any redress by the supreme court, nevertheless. The administration also claimed that by ordering the investigation to be transferred to the CBI, the judgment "unsubstantiated aspersions" on the state's investigative agency.

Sandeshkhali has been in the news after a large number of women have alleged that now-suspended TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his "gang" captured swathes of land by force, besides "sexually harassing" them.