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On a day the Calcutta High Court transferred the Sandehskhali case, in which four officials from the Directorate of Enforcement came under attack while raiding Sheikh Sahahjahan, to the CBI, the ED on Tuesday provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 12.78 crore in the ongoing probe against the suspended TMC strongman and others.
The assets were attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in connection with the ongoing investigation against Shahjahan and others. The ED initiated the probe on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the state police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Act, Arms Act, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and West Bengal State Highways Act against Shahajahan and others, including sections of heinous offences like giving threats of injury, murder, attempt to murder, extortion, grabbing land of the general public. The ED said its probe under PMLA, 2002 revealed that the proceeds of crime acquired by Sheikh Shahjahan through the "commission of criminal activities relating to scheduled offences as mentioned in the above FIRs are being held, possessed, disguised and concealed by Shahjahan Seikh in the form of various movable and immovable properties". The ED stated that it attached the proceeds of crime in the form of immovable and movable properties to the tune of Rs 12.78 crore. These properties include 14 immovable properties in the form of an apartment, agricultural land, land for fishery, land and a building at Sarberia village, Sandeshkhali and Kolkata, the ED stated, adding that two bank accounts were also attached. Further investigation is in progress. Earlier in the day, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, led by the Chief Justice, ordered the transfer of custody of the suspended TMC strongman to the CBI. The division bench also set aside an earlier order for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the attack on ED officials. It also ordered the handing over of two cases registered at the Nazhat police station and another at the Bongaon police station against Shahjahan to the CBI. The high court also ordered the West Bengal Police to hand over Shahjahan and all related inquiry documents to the CBI by 4.30 pm on Tuesday. (ANI)
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