Central Bureau of Investigation arrests three aides of Sheikh Shahjahan
Telegraph | 13 March 2024
The CBI on Monday arrested three close aides of Sandeshkhali strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.
Jiauddin Mollah, Didarbaksh Mollah and Faruque Akunji were arrested for their alleged role in the attack on a visiting ED team at Sandeshkhali on January 5.
The arrests of these three local Trinamul leaders came within five days of the central investigating agency getting custody of Shahjahan riding a high court order.
The three were summoned for questioning during the day at the CBI’s Nizam Palace office in Calcutta and were arrested almost eight hours after questioning.
Jiauddin is the pradhan of Trinamul-run Sarberia-Agarhati gram panchayat. Didarbaksh is the manager of Shahjahan’s market complex in Sarberia in Sandeshkhali and one of Shahjahan’s guards who had filed an FIR against ED officials following the attack. Faruque is believed to be one of Shahjahan’s close friends with business interests in pisciculture and car rentals, CBI sources said.
“There are reasons to believe that these three were present in the mob that had attacked the ED team at Sandeshkhali outside Sheikh Shahjahan’s house,” a senior CBI officer said.
Since taking Shahjahan in custody from the CID, the CBI has been scanning call detail records of the Sandeshkhali leader apart from examining the video footage of January 5 mob.
A list of suspects had been drawn up after collating information available, sources in the central agency said and their interrogation began earlier in the day after sending out summons asking them to appear for questioning on Monday.
Senior officers in the central agency said video grabs available with them showed Jiauddin among several comprising the angry mob that attacked the visiting ED team along with a few journalists and CRPF personnel.
The move came on a day when the Supreme Court upheld Calcutta High Court’s order of entrusting the CBI with the attack probe.
Senior CBI officers said the statements of the three arrested will help identify others who were a part of the mob. Gazi Siddique, pradhan of Bermajur II gram panchayat, for instance, has been summoned.
“I’m not aware of whether others from Sandeshkhali have been summoned. I just know I have been and so here I am,” Jiauddin said outside the Nizam Palace office.
The CBI has not been able to trace Shahjahan’s two mobile phones as yet.
Call detail records revealed that he made over 20 calls from his phones and received several calls, including that of local Trinamul MLA Sukumar Mahata.