On a request from the central agency, a court in Basirhat, West Bengal, on Sunday extended the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody of Shahjahan Sheikh, a major accused in a mob attack on ED officials in Sandeshkhali, by an additional four days.

Sheikh was taken into jail by the Central Bureau of probe on March 6, and the probe was transferred to them following a Calcutta High Court order.

When Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials went to search the now-suspended Trinamool Congress leader’s Sandeshkhali property, they were attacked.

On the central agency’s request, the judge of the Basirhat court in the North 24 Parganas district extended Sheikh’s custody to the CBI for a further four days.

The court ordered Sheikh to appear before it once more on March 14.

Sheikh was brought before the Basirhat court, which is around 70 kilometers from Kolkata, where he is being held under strict security by the CBI.

When ED officers went to inspect Sheikh’s Sandeshkhali property on January 5 as a part of their investigation into a possible ration distribution scam in which a former state minister has been detained, they were attacked by a crowd estimated to be approximately a thousand people.

The state police detained Sheikh on February 29, one day after the high court granted permission for the CBI, ED, or West Bengal police to make an arrest of him.

Meanwhile, Shahjahan’s daughter Shabana Yasmin, who was present in the court, said her father is innocent.

Talking to media, Shabana said, her father is innocent. He has been implicated. She is sure the truth will surface at the right time. Let there be a proper investigation in the matter, Yasmin said. However, she refused to give an answer when asked who had implicated her father.

Shahjahan’s lawyer did not make any bail requests on his client’s behalf.

Following his arrest on February 28, Shahjahan was remanded to ten days of police prison by the Basirhat Sub-divisional Court the following day.

After that, he was placed under the supervision of CID-West Bengal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday launched the Mahtari Vandan Yojana in Chhattisgarh to provide monetary assistance to women and said the priority of the double-engine government is the welfare of women.

Addressing the event virtually, PM Modi said his government has taken a resolve to make three crore women ‘Lakhpati Didi’ in the country.

PM Modi said, that it is fortunate that today he got an opportunity to dedicate the Mahtari Vandan Yojna, aimed at empowering ‘Nari Shakti’. Under the scheme, the government had promised to give Rs 1,000 per month to more than 70 lakh women and today the BJP government has fulfilled it, he added.

The first instalment of Rs 655 crore was deposited into the bank accounts of beneficiaries, married women, under the scheme on Sunday, he asserted.

The Prime Minister said that he should have been among the beneficiaries today for this programme, but due to some other engagements, he was in Uttar Pradesh. PM Modi was speaking from Kashi, the land of Baba Vishwanath, adding that he said who is also showering his blessings on them.

When mother and sisters are empowered, then the entire family gets empowered, PM Modi asserted. Therefore, the priority of the double-engine government is the welfare of mothers and sisters, he emphasised.

The Prime Minister also added that BJP has given a guarantee of happiness and prosperity and the Chhattisgarh government led by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has started working on it.

Emphasising the importance of family well-being, PM Modi highlighted that the well-being of women plays a key role. The holistic well-being of every family, beginning with women’s health and dignity, is a top priority for PM Modi’s government, he asserted. The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of tackling the issues pregnant women face, such as high maternal and infant mortality rates.

Former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan will contest Lok Sabha elections as Trinamool Congress candidate from West Bengal’s Behrampore constituency, which is currently held by Congress’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Congress is yet to name its candidates for Bengal, however, Chowdhury is likely to seek a recontest from the seat, which he has represented as many as five times in the Lok Sabha.

Taking to X, the former cricketer extended his gratitude to party supremo Banerjee for welcoming him into the TMC family and trusting him with the responsibility to become the people’s voice in the Parliament. As representatives of the people, it is our duty to uplift the poor and deprived, and that is what he hopes to achieve, Pathan added.

The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC on Sunday announced 42 candidates for the upcoming general elections in Bengal, making it official there is no alliance with the INDIA bloc parties in the State.

The seat from which Mahua Moitra was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019, Karthinagar, will serve as the backdrop for her contest. She was expelled from the Lok Sabha due to a bribe-for-question controversy.

The 42-seat did not include the name of actor Nusrat Jahan, who is now serving as an MP for Basirhat, a Sandeshkhali constituency, for the Lok Sabha elections.

TMC party announced its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections at a grand rally held at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata. This was the first time the party had made such an announcement in this manner.

The names of the candidates were revealed by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, while the party’s leader and Chief Minister Banerjee, paraded with the 42 candidates in front of a massive gathering at the ground.

Meanwhile, Congress claimed that it has always preferred the INDIA bloc to fight the election together against the BJP and the party has made it clear time and time again that it wants to share seats in West Bengal with the TMC in a decent arrangement.

The Indian National Congress has consistently argued that rather than being finalized by decree, such an accord must be reached through discussions. The party has always wanted the INDIA group to fight the BJP together, said senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.