Calcutta HC upholds CBI probe in Sandeshkhali BJP workers’ murder, rejects plea by TMC leader

The Calcutta High Court’s Division Bench has upheld a single bench order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the 2019 killings of three BJP workers in Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas. The order by Justice Jay Sengupta on June 30 was challenged by Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, but the Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Prasenjit Biswas dismissed the plea and allowed the CBI probe to continue.

The case pertains to the deaths of BJP workers Pradip Mondal and Sukanta Mondal, and the disappearance of Debdas Mondal, following a violent incident on June 8, 2019. While Pradip and Sukanta were found dead, Debdas went missing. Families of the victims alleged that Debdas was also murdered. They named Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates as accused in their complaints.

Initially, the investigation included Shahjahan’s name in the chargesheet. However, after the case was transferred to the state CID, his name was omitted from the final chargesheet. Alleging irregularities in the investigation, Pradip Mondal’s wife Padma Mondal and Debdas Mondal’s wife Supriya Mondal Gayen moved the court seeking a fresh investigation into the case.

The single bench then directed the Joint Director of the CBI to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for the probe. Shahjahan contested the decision before the Division Bench, which ruled that the CBI investigation should proceed as ordered. In a separate case in 2022, Shahjahan’s name had also appeared in a murder charge, for which he was released on bail.