No proof of arms seizure in Sandeshkhali; CBI may have planted items: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that there was “no evidence” of arms seizure in Sandeshkhali and insisted that the CBI conducted searches without informing the state police.

She expressed scepticism regarding the operations, stating that the recovered items “might have been brought by officials of the central agency”.

Mamata’s charge

“Even if a firecracker goes off in Bengal, the NIA, CBI, NSG are coming to investigate. It seems that a war is going on. The state police were not informed. It is not known what was found. There was no evidence. The seized items might have been brought by them (CBI) in a car,” Banerjee said while addressing an election rally at Kulti in West Burdwan district on Saturday (April 27).

She was addressing the rally for TMC’s Asansol Lok Sabha candidate Shatrughan Sinha.

CBI search

Earlier, on Friday, the TMC lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, alleging that the CBI had “deliberately carried out an unscrupulous” raid at an “empty location” in Sandeshkhali during the second phase of polling in the state.

The CBI on Friday (April 26) seized arms and ammunition, including a police service revolver and foreign-made firearms, while searching two premises of an associate of now-suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali.

The searches were conducted in connection with the January attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team by a mob that was allegedly instigated by Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29 in the case.

TMC’s letter

The TMC, in the letter to the CEO, said that media reports suggested the CBI had called in additional forces, including the bomb squad of NSG. “It has also been reported in the media that arms and ammunition have been recovered from a house during the such raid by the central agency,” it said.

The party said while “law and order” fell completely within the domain of the state government, the CBI did not issue any notice to it or the police authorities before carrying out such a raid. It stated that the West Bengal Police has a fully functional bomb disposal squad at its command, and it could have assisted in the operation if the CBI indeed felt its requirement during the raid.

“However, no such assistance was sought. But surprisingly, the raids had become nationwide news stating that weapons had been recovered during the raids,” TMC said.

TMC smells a rat

The party also argued that “there is no way of knowing with certainty as to whether these weapons were indeed recovered during the search or whether they were surreptitiously planted by the CBI or NSG”.

The TMC alleged the entire exercise smacks of an effort by the CBI to create a nationwide hatred against the TMC and its candidates during the election period while feeding the wrong information that the location belonged to a supporter of the party.

(With agency inputs)