Ration scam
Bengal ration scam: ED issues lookout notice against TMC leader missing since attack on probe team
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a lookout notice against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh, who has been missing since yesterday after an ED team was attacked on the way to raid his residence in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal in connection with the public distribution system (PDS) scam, media reports said.
The ED reported on Friday that its officials were attacked by a crowd of around a thousand people who charged towards them "with an intention to cause death."
The agency's investigators were assaulted by a mob, allegedly comprising Sheikh's supporters, as they were en route to search his home in Sandeshkhali.
The ED officials had planned to conduct raids at the residence of the TMC leader in relation to the irregularities in the ration distribution system.
According to sources, the Trinamool leader tried to escape to Bangladesh but failed due to strict surveillance at the border by the Border Security Force and Bangladesh Rifles in view of Bangladesh's general elections scheduled for Sunday, reported NDTV.
The central investigative agency suspects that Sheikh and his family are currently in hiding somewhere the state.
The agency's team visited the residence of the Trinamool leader as part of its investigation into a ration distribution scam.
Sheikh is known to be a close aide of state minister Jyotipriyo Mallick, who was arrested last year in connection with a multi-crore ration distribution scam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) reported that three of its officers sustained "grievous" injuries during a mob attack on its search team in Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas district.
The crowd snatched the personal belongings of ED officials such as mobile phones and wallets.
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