KOLKATA: A day after the horrific attacks on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers when they raided the house of Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh in North 24 Parganas in a ration scam case, both sides filed police complaints against each other.
Besides, the police lodged a suo motu case against the ED officers, charging them with molestation, forcible entrance and theft. Another FIR lodged based on a complaint from the caretaker of Shahjahan’s house charged the agency’s officers with attempted break-in without any warrant.
For its part, the ED e-mailed its complaint to the director general of police and superintendent of Basirhat police district, making serious charges, including an attempt to murder against the attackers and its perpetrators. However, no one was arrested in connection with the attack on the ED officers.
Parallelly, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is understood to have sought a report from West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Friday’s attack. Though Bose summoned the state chief secretary and the director general of police to Raj Bhavan on Friday, both failed to turn up even a day after the incident.
Late on Friday night, another set of ED officers faced a similar attack from Trinamool supporters while arresting former chairman of Bongaon civic body Shankar Adhya in the same ration scam. Adhya’s followers surrounded the sleuths and smashed the rear windshield of one of its vehicles. Fortunately, none of the ED officers was injured.
“A group of Adhya’s followers attacked us when we were taking him out of his Bongaon residence. The central police personnel had to lathi-charge the crowd,” said an ED officer.
Former food and supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick was among the first to be arrested in the 2,000 crore scam on October 27. The agency also searched Adhya’s in-laws’ house in the same area and recovered 8 lakh rupees in cash and incriminating evidence. “Adhya was a close aide of Mallick. We found clinching evidence showing his direct involvement in the scam,” said the officer.