KOLKATA: Four officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were injured in an attack allegedly by the supporters of the Trinamool Congress on Friday morning. It has sparked a political slugfest, with the BJP and Congress calling for the imposition of President's rule, even as the ruling TMC accused the central agency sleuths of inciting locals.
The incident occurred when they arrived at Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas to search the house of a local TMC leader in connection with an alleged foodgrain scam that has already thrown the former food and supplies minister Jyoti Priya Mallick behind bars.
At least two Enforcement Directorate officers suffered serious injuries and required hospitalisation.
The officers of the central agency, which is probing several cases of irregularities in Bengal, ran away from the spot in an autorickshaw after the personnel of the central armed police force, accompanying the sleuths, fled facing the attack. Later, the ED officers were taken to a nearby transit point of a riverine route from where they left in a launch owned by the local police.
Sources in the central agency said the followers of Shahjahan Sheikh, a local leader of the ruling party, turned violent when the officers of the investigating agency attempted to break open the locks of the door to get access inside the house. Vehicles of the ED were vandalised in the attack.
According to ED sources, a team of four sleuths reached the house of Shahjahan, known for his proximity with Mallick, around 7 am. “The two collapsible gate was locked from inside and we repeatedly pressed the doorbell for 30 minutes but there was no response from inside. As a result, we decided to break in. The locals and Shahjahan’s followers started assembling as the central force personnel started hitting the locks to break it. Before we could realise the intention of the assembly of locals, they attacked us with feast and blows. One of our officers got his head injured. Finding no way out, we had no option left other than fleeing,” said an ED officer.
Condemning the attack, governor C.V. Ananda Bose hit out at the Bengal government for failing to contain the law and order situation in the state. In a stern message to the TMC-led government, Bose said he would explore his constitutional options and take appropriate action.
He said, “The ghastly incident reported from Sandeshkhali is alarming and deplorable. It is the bounden duty of a civilised government to stop barbarism and vandalism in a democracy. If a government fails in its basic duty then the Constitution of India will take its course. As governor, I will explore all my constitutional options for appropriate action.”
Referring to the incident as a “pre-election, Bose said, “I would like to assure the people that jungle raj and goonda raj will work in a fool’s paradise, not in Bengal. It is not a banana republic. This early pre-election violence will and should find an early end. It is the beginning of that end. The sole responsibility of violence in society lies with the government…The perpetrators of violence and more so their political abettors will soon be made to realise that you can fool some people all the time and all people sometimes but not all people all the time. It is high time we stop violence in Bengal."
He also asked top state government officials, including the chief secretary and home secretary, to meet him at Raj Bhavan.
Describing the incident as “horrific” and suspecting that Rohingyas, Muslim refugees from Myanmar, were among the attackers, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari sought Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s intervention to take action. BJP’s state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged Shahjahan and his followers are anti-national.
"As the law and order situation in Bengal has crumbled thanks to @AITCofficial post the heinous attack on the ED officials at Sandeshkhali, I have written to the Hon'ble Home Minister @AmitShahJi to initiate NIA investigation into the matter to ensure the safety of the people of Bengal," he said on X.
Reacting to the incident, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nisith Pramanik said, "State governments must provide officers of the central probe agency proper security and other resources. But, that has not happened in West Bengal. The attack on the ED officers is an attack on the federal structure of the state."
"The Centre has taken serious note of it, and we will also look into why similar incidents are repeatedly happening in West Bengal," Pramanik said.
Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury spoke in a similar vein, alleging that law and order cease to exist in Bengal under the Trinamool Congress rule.
"We demand that President's rule should be immediately imposed in West Bengal," he said.
Meanwhile, TMC minister Shashi Panja accused the ED officers of instigating the locals, which led to the situation.
TMC minister Shashi Panja said the ruling party has no intention to disturb ED’s investigation. “The central agency should have informed the state police before raiding the place. If they wanted to maintain secrecy, they could have informed the chief secretary. The central agency has done the raid keeping the state machinery in the dark to malign the state government,” she said.
TMC state spokesperson Kunal Ghosh criticised the Congress and BJP, claiming that the law and order situation in West Bengal is much better than in other states.
WATCH VIDEO:
(With inputs from PTI)