A special PMLA court in Kolkata has framed charges against former Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh, his brother Sheikh Alomgir and two of his associates in a money laundering case in which they were chargesheeted in May 2024, the ED said on Wednesday.
The court ordered framing of charges against the accused on June 15, the central agency said in a statement.
The others against whom charges have been framed include Shahjahan’s accomplices Shib Prasad Hazra and Didar Boksh Molla. All four are currently lodged in jail under judicial custody.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had chargesheeted the four men under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on May 27, 2024, and the court took cognisance of it on June 3, 2024.
The money laundering investigation against Shahjahan and his associates stems from multiple FIRs registered against them by the Bengal Police on charges of issuing threats, murder, attempt to murder, extortion, land grabbing, etc.
The ED arrested Shahjahan on March 30, 2024, in connection with a case of mob assault on the agency's officials when they went to search his premises in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on January 5, 2024, in a money laundering case linked to an alleged scam in PDS ration distribution in Bengal.
The ED alleged that Shahjahan, with political support and an army of his goons, established a "reign of terror" in Sandeshkhali.
"Starting with petty crime, he gradually expanded his criminal empire with the use of force and intimidation.
“His wealth accumulation involved land grabbing, illegal fish farming and trading, brick kiln grabbing, getting contracts through his brother Sheikh Alomgir, Hazra and others, and collection of illegal levies," the ED said.
The "ill-gotten" money garnered by Shahjahan was "laundered" by disguising it as income from fish business and employing many trusted associates to channelise the money to himself, it said.