The Bengal police on Wednesday submitted a prayer in Calcutta High Court challenging a single-judge bench’s order for a joint probe by the CBI and the state police into the attack on Enforcement Directorate officers that went to raid the house of Trinamul leader Shahjahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali on January 5.
The police, which moved the plea in the court of Justice Hiranmoy Bhattacharya, cited “non-cooperation” from the CBI and expressed willingness to carry out an independent probe without the interference of the central agency.
The hearing of an almost similar appeal by the ED — which has pleaded that the CBI be allowed to conduct the investigation independently, not in association with the state police — is pending in the court of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Bhattacharya.
High court sources said the prayers will be heard together by a regular bench.
The ED had filed the petition earlier this week challenging the order of Justice Jay Sengupta of the high court that a team led by two officers of the rank of superintendent of police — one from the CBI and the other from the Bengal police — be set up to probe the assault.
The state had announced that Jaspreet Singh, superintendent of police, Islampur, would represent it on the panel. The CBI has not yet submitted a name.
“The central agencies do not cooperate and that hampers investigation. The Bengal police have sent multiple summons to ED officers seeking information about the team that went to raid Shahjahan’s house on January 5 in connection with the PDS scam and came under attack. But we are yet to get any response,” said a senior officer of the state police.
Another officer said: “The CBI’s non-cooperation is evident from the fact that it has yet to name the officer who will lead the team that will be set up, in compliance with Justice Sengupta’s order, to investigate the January 5 attack.”