The Enforcement Directorate arrested former Bongaon municipality chairperson Shankar Adhya earlier today in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam in West Bengal, as reported by news agency PTI on Saturday. The arrest came 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 officer of the ED said on Friday that the officers are preparing two sets of reports on 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 about the incident will be sent to their New Delhi office by Saturday, and the decision on the next course of action will be taken by their seniors there.
"We are preparing two sets of reports on Friday's attack on our team during the raid at Trinamool Congress leader Sahajahan Sheikh's residence at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas. We will include every detail of the attack, how we were forced to abandon the assignment and flee from the place, and the damage to our vehicles. We will also include photographs and video grabs of the attack," the official told PTI.
ED Teams Continued Raids In Ration Scam
Despite the mob attack on the ED team, other teams of the probe agency, who were conducting raids in connection with the ongoing probe into the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal, continued their operations until late evening.
The ED officers, who carried out raids at the residence of the in-laws of the TMC leader and former chairman of Bongaon municipality, as well as two of his associates, left after 12 hours, as reported by PTI. The officers collected a few documents and bank details and spoke to the locals.
Search operations at two other places, including an ice cream factory belonging to a close aide of the TMC leader in Bongaon, continued until 10pm, the official said. "We faced a lot of non-cooperation from the local residents. That is the reason it took so much time for us to complete the search operations," he said, as quoted by PTI.
Raids were still ongoing at an apartment in the southern part of the city's Bijoygarh area in connection with the same scam, he added. The officers of the probe agency 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 and 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 conducting an investigation into an alleged ration distribution scam when they encountered resistance from Sajahan's supporters, resulting in injuries to several officers and damage to their vehicles.
The attack on the team of the probe agency sparked a political firestorm and a fierce condemnation by Governor CV Ananda Bose, who said the state is not a "banana republic."
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said three of its officers suffered "grievous" injuries in the mob attack and that their personal belongings, such as mobile phones and wallets, were snatched, as reported by PTI.