Overview

• On July 4, the CBI registered an FIR naming suspended Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh and 24 others in the 2019 murder of three BJP workers in Sandeshkhali.
• The filing implements a June 30 High Court order by Justice Joy Sengupta directing the formation of a special investigation team under a joint CBI director.
• Victims’ families had petitioned the Calcutta High Court, alleging that earlier state police and CID probes failed to act against prime accused Sheikh.
• Sheikh has been in judicial custody since January 2024 for allegedly assaulting Enforcement Directorate officers during a raid at his home.
• The CBI is also conducting parallel inquiries into land grabbing, sexual abuse allegations, and attacks on Enforcement Directorate personnel linked to Sheikh’s network.