The high court on Wednesday ordered the formation of a special investigation team with officers of the CBI and the Bengal police to jointly probe the attack on an Enforcement Directorate team that had gone to raid the house of Trinamul leader Shahjahan Sheikh on January 5.
The central agency’s officers had to flee from outside Shahjahan’s house in Sandeshkhali, in North 24-Parganas, after being attacked by a violent mob. Shahjahan, who is accused of instigating the mob, was said to be untraceable till Wednesday evening.
The superintendent of police, Islampur police district, Jaspreet Singh, will be part of the SIT on behalf of the Bengal police, the state submitted in the court of Justice Jay Sengupta.
The name of the CBI officer, who will jointly work with Singh, has yet to be submitted by the central agency.
Justice Sengupta on Wednesday morning sought the names of two officers of the rank of superintendent of police — one from the CBI and the other from the Bengal police — who could head a joint investigation team to probe the attack on the ED officers.
Later in the afternoon, the state submitted the name of Singh to represent the Bengal police on the committee.
The court ordered the CBI and the state to form a special investigation team to jointly investigate two FIRs that have been lodged against the violent mob. One of the cases was lodged by the ED and the other by the police.
The court on Wednesday said the team would submit its report to the district court concerned and that it would monitor the progress of the investigation. The SIT will not submit its final report without the high court’s permission.
Counsel for the CBI had initially objected to the idea of a joint probe and wanted the entire investigation to be handed to the CBI. The lawyer cited alleged non-cooperation by the state police in the past.
But the court said the state police could help get information from local people, including about the terrain, which officers of the central agency, who are outsiders, may find difficult to collect.
The CBI has yet to submit the name of an officer of the rank of superintendent of police who would represent the CBI in the joint probe. The agency has been asked to submit the name on Thursday.
The court also said officers of Nazat police station — where three FIRs have been lodged in connection with the Sandeshkhali incident — should not be part of the probe team.
The court also said the existing team of officers who are probing the case should not be included in the special investigation team.