Cal HC rejects anticipatory bail prayer of Shajahan Sheikh in ED's ration distribution case

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail prayer of suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in connection with the Enforcement Directorate's probe into an alleged ration distribution scam.

The ED has already arrested former West Bengal minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, who held the Food and Supplies portfolio from 2011 to 2021, in the case.

A division bench presided by Justice Debangsu Basak rejected the anticipatory bail prayer of Sheikh after hearing arguments by his lawyer and the ED, which opposed the petition.

Sheikh is at present in the custody of the CBI in connection with a mob attack on an ED team on January 5 when they went to search his premises at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district.

He was apprehended by the state police on February 29, a day after the Calcutta High Court ordered that the CBI, ED or the West Bengal Police could arrest him. On an order of the high court, the CBI has taken over the investigation in cases related to the mob attack.