Trinamul general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said that the attack on the Enforcement Directorate team outside the residence of party leader Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeshkhali on January 5 was "unfortunate", but refused to blame him till a probe was done.
Speaking for the first time since the attack on the ED team that went to raid the home of Trinamul's local strongman in connection with the ration scam, Abhishek said "The matter is sub judice. An SIT has been formed... Until the probe is completed nothing can be said who was behind the attack."
"I have no information about Shahjahan's presence on the day there. I have seen in the media the demonstration of some people... But whatever has happened was uncalled-for and unfortunate," he told reporters after an administrative meeting on development projects in Amtala of South 24-Parganas.
He added: "Media personnel reached Sandeshkhali minutes after central agencies. What does it mean? I am not endorsing what happened but it takes around three hours from Calcutta (to Sandeshkhali) and the media was there by 8am. This means reporters knew about the raid while state police were not informed. How did the media channels begin broadcasting the ED's presence live barely within a minute of its arrival?"
Indicating the ED, Abhishek said: "If you do not seek the assistance of the local police, a confrontation may arise. In that case, the local police can't be blamed."