West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose on January 12 said he was "convinced" by the explanation given by senior State government officials on the delay in arresting TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh for the attack on Enforcement Directorate officers during a raid.
Mr. Bose, however, did not want to reveal much about his meeting with the senior government officials for the sake of the ongoing investigation.
"What they conveyed to me is the considered opinion of the State government on certain burning issues which are vexing us, particularly in the background of the harassment of the Enforcement Directorate. They have given me some valuable inputs since the investigation is going on, I would like to keep it confidential," Mr. Bose told reporters.
“On Thursday evening, Chief Secretary BP Gopalika, Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and DGP Rajiv Kumar met Bose at the Raj Bhavan and briefed him on the investigation of the Sandeshkhali incident. The meeting lasted nearly an hour,” Raj Bhavan sources said.
Asked what were their answers on the Governor’s direction of arresting Shahjahan immediately, Mr. Bose said, “My statement is on record and the reasons why it is delayed has been explained to me I am convinced and since the investigation is on, I don’t want to reveal the details,” he said.
Mr. Bose had asked the State government to brief him about the proceedings in the ration scam and called the three senior officials to meet him in this regard. On Saturday, the Governor had asked the State government to submit a report on why was Shahjahan not arrested and to clarify whether he was in India or crossed the borders.
He had also asked the State government "to fix up responsibility for the failure of the law and order machinery and also to punish police officers who failed in their duties".
On January 5, three Enforcement Department (ED) officers were assaulted and their vehicles damaged allegedly by supporters of TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh when they tried to raid his residence at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district in connection with their probe into the ration distribution scam.
