ED officers reached Sheikh’s house in Akunjipara area of Sandeshkhali around 6 am. Unlike their earlier visit to the house, the team was accompanied by 125 central force personnel who wore riot control gear and were carrying tear gas shells, batons and guns. Several units of state police and Rapid Action Force were also present on the spot.
According to reports, ED officers broke open the lock of the house with the help of a locksmith and started the search operations. They were accompanied by a videographer and two witnesses. After entering the house, the officers locked the gates from inside and started searching rooms
After day-long search operations, ED officials sealed the house in Akunjipara and put up a notice summoning Sheikh to appear in person before it for questioning by January 29 in connection with its probe into the ration distribution scam, an officer said.
“It seems that the documents have been removed from this house during the last fortnight. We have sealed the house,” an officer said. The ED officers found a few old visa-related papers, some contractual documents and articles besides a few clothing materials, he said.
Meanwhile, CAPF teams cordoned off the house and a section of the personnel went for area domination exercise.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, the ED team was stopped from entering the TMC leader’s residence by the local police before they were shown an “order to conduct a search operation” there. “We need to see the order to conduct a search operation at any place within our jurisdiction. This is the norm. They (ED officers) showed the order and after that we allowed them to break open the gate and start searching inside,” a senior officer of Basirhat Police District said.
A Zilla Parishad member, Sheikh has multiple houses in the area and also owns over 400 bighas of fisheries, five brick kilns, and a market which is named after him.
On January 5, a team of ED officials was attacked by a mob of over 100 men and women in Sandeshkhali, leaving three officials injured. The team had gone to conduct raids at Sheikh’s residence. Sheikh is considered close to state minister Jyotipriya Mullick, who was arrested in the alleged ration scam last year.
Following the incident, police had registered three FIRs, including the one against ED officials.
— With PTI inputs