The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered transfer of investigation into an attack on Enforcement Directorate officials at Sandeshkhali on January 5 from the West Bengal Police to the CBI, holding that the state police are "totally biased." The court also directed that the custody of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal police on February 29 in connection with the attack, be handed over to the central agency.

A division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed that the directions be complied with by 4.30 pm on Tuesday.

Observing that a fair, honest and complete investigation is required and this alone will retain the public confidence in the impartial working of the state agencies, the court said that it has no hesitation in its mind to hold that this confidence has been shaken in connection with this case.

"There can be no better case than the case on hand which requires to be transferred to be investigated by CBI," the division bench observed.

Both the ED and the West Bengal government moved separate appeals challenging a single bench order which on January 17 ordered formation of a joint special investigation team (SIT) of the CBI and the state police to probe the mob attack on the ED officials.

While the ED wanted the probe to be transferred to the CBI only, the state prayed that the investigation be allowed to be done by the state police solely.

The division bench, also comprising Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, set aside the order passed by the single bench constituting the SIT.

The TMC leader was arrested by the state police on February 29, a day after the high court ordered that Sheikh, who is also the prime accused in alleged sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing at Sandeshkhali, can be arrested by the CBI, the ED or the West Bengal Police.

The division bench had earlier stayed a single bench order constituting the SIT and restrained the West Bengal police from proceeding with the investigation in the cases registered by them in connection with the attack on ED officials.

The bench said that despite such an order, the case stood transferred to the state CID and they issued notices to the ED officials.

"Thus, this act of the state police would be sufficient to hold that the state police are totally biased and every attempt is being made to delay the investigation in order to protect the accused who has been absconding for more than 50 days," the bench observed.

The court noted that the then-absconding accused is stated to be a "strong man" in the locality and has very powerful connections in the ruling party apart from having been elected on a TMC ticket as a Karmadhaksya of the North 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad.

The bench observed that the state police had played a "hide and seek" methodology to shield the accused who "undoubtedly is a highly politically influential person who has demonstrably shown that he is and would be in a position to influence the investigation if allowed to rest with the state police." The court noted that the case which has been registered by ED in its investigation into the alleged ration distribution scam involves highly politically powerful persons which include the accused Sheikh.

The ED has arrested Jyoti Priya Mallick, when he was a state minister, in connection with the ration distribution case.

In the transfer application, the ED had stated before the court that the state police purposely arrested Sheikh in the case of the attack on ED officials by a nearly 1,000-strong mob, even though more than 40 other cases have been pending against him for years.

ED's counsel claimed that this was done to deny the CBI custody of Sheikh even if the probe into the attack is transferred to it, as the maximum police custody period of an accused is 15 days in a case.