Kolkata, 4 August (H.S.) —

The Calcutta High Court's division bench on Monday upheld an earlier order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the 2019 killings of three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali region.

The bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Prasenjit Biswas ruled that the directive issued on June 30 by Justice Jay Sengupta, ordering the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under a CBI joint director, will remain valid. The order had been challenged by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan, but the appeal was dismissed.

The case dates back to June 2019, when three BJP workers — Pradeep Mandal, Sukanta Mandal, and Debdas Mandal — were attacked in a series of violent incidents in Sandeshkhali. Pradeep and Sukanta were allegedly murdered on June 8, while Debdas went missing under suspicious circumstances. His family believes he too was killed.

The name of Sheikh Shahjahan, a local TMC leader, had initially appeared in the case's chargesheet. However, after the investigation was handed over to the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID), his name was reportedly removed from the final report. This raised serious concerns over manipulation of evidence and prompted legal action by the victims’ families.

Padma Mandal, the wife of deceased Pradeep Mandal, and Supriya Mandal Gayen, wife of the missing Debdas Mandal, had approached the court seeking a fair and independent investigation.

Notably, Shahjahan’s name had also surfaced in connection with another murder case in 2022, though he was granted bail at the time.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh