Kolkata (The Hawk): The West Bengal Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) served a notice to the CBI on Sunday, intensifying the continuing dispute between the two agencies over the inexplicable passing of Lalan Sheikh, the main suspect in the Bogtui massacre.
On the evening of December 12, Sheikh passed away while in the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) care.
According to information obtained, the CID-West Bengal requested answers to specific questions in a notification that was submitted to Vilas Bala Madghut, the investigative office for the Bogtui massacre. The notification from the state investigative body requests an explanation of how Lalan Sheikh passed away at the CBI's Rampurhat camp office in the Birbhum district.
The Bogtui investigation officer was also questioned by the CID regarding the specifics of the security measures in place at the Rampurhat camp office on the evening of December 12 when the accused passed away. Additionally, the CID has requested that the Bogtui investigation officer turn over all of the CCTV footage from the camp office.
Sources claim that the CBI officer has also been instructed to contact CID as soon as possible with his report based on the notification.
Recall that the Birbhum district police initially filed the FIR in the Lalan Sheikh death case, which names seven CBI officers, and that CID-West Bengal later took over the investigation. Sushanta Bhattacharya, the agency's investigation officer of the cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal and who has no connection to the separate CBI team investigating the Bogtui case, was named in the FIR. The CBI, however, challenged the FIR at a single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, alleging that it was politically motivated.
Justice Jay Sengupta, sitting alone on the single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, permitted the CID-West Bengal to continue its investigation without taking any coordinated action, such as arresting any of the seven CBI officers identified in the FIR.
(Inputs from Agencies)