Trinamool Congress leader summoned by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with alleged ration distribution scam in West Bengal Shahjahan Sheikh On Monday, he requested for anticipatory bail through his lawyer before a special CBI court here. Following the attack by a mob on ED officials who had gone to raid his premises on January 5 at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, Sheikh has not been seen in public. Sheikh, through lawyer Sabyasachi Banerjee, claimed that he is not an accused in the agency’s complaint in the money laundering case. ED had arrested state minister Jyotipriya Malik in this case.
February 23 date fixed for next hearing
Special CBI court judge Prashant Mukhopadhyay has fixed February 23 for the next hearing of Sheikh’s anticipatory bail plea when ED lawyers will present their arguments opposing the plea. Deputy Solicitor General Dheeraj Trivedi, representing the ED, rejected Shaikh’s lawyer’s request for an affidavit from the agency that no further summons would be issued against Shaikh till the next date of hearing. .
ED has sent three summons to Sheikh so far
The ED has so far sent three summons to Shaikh, but he has not appeared at the office at CGO Complex here in Salt Lake. Trivedi sought time to take instructions from the agency to present the arguments. Banerjee said that Sheikh is ready to respond to the summons of ED officials and appear before them if the court grants him protection. He claimed that he was not an accused in the complaint. In its written opposition to the anticipatory bail request, the ED said that ruling TMC leader Shaikh is an influential person.