In West Bengal's Basirhat, a court on Sunday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) an extension of custody for Sheikh Shahjahan, the principal accused in the assault on Enforcement Directorate officials in Sandeshkhali, for an additional four days following a petition by the central agency.
The CBI had obtained custody of Sheikh Shahjahan on March 6, under an order from the Calcutta High Court transferring the investigation.
Upon the central agency's request, the judge at the Basirhat court in North 24 Parganas district approved the extension of Sheikh Shahjahan's custody to the CBI for four more days.
The court specified that Sheikh Shahjahan must be brought before it again on March 14 for further proceedings.
Sheikh Shahjahan appeared before the Basirhat court, located approximately 70 kilometres away from Kolkata, where he is currently detained by the CBI, under stringent security measures.
The incident occurred on January 5 when a group of about 1000 individuals attacked Enforcement Directorate officials during a search operation at Sheikh Shahjahan's premises in Sandeshkhali as part of an investigation into an alleged ration distribution scam. The scam involved the arrest of a former state minister.
Sheikh Shahjahan was apprehended by the state police on February 29, following a High Court directive authorizing the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, or the West Bengal Police to take him into custody.
