ED tracking four responsible for laundering Sheikh Shahjahan's ill-gotten money

Kolkata, June 13 (IANS) Four individuals, including two women, played crucial roles in channelling the ill-gotten funds of Sheikh Shahjahan acquired from various illegal sources, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has found, said sources on Thursday.

The ED has been tracking the whereabouts of these four individuals, identified as -- Jaya Shaw, Rabeya Bibi Molla, Pratap Biswas and George Kutti. All of them are currently absconding and ED officials have reportedly activated all their sources to track them.

Sources said that a close examination of different documents has shown several transactions by Shahjahan and his family members with these four individuals.

The ED officials are reportedly taking help from other Central agencies to track their whereabouts, sources said.

The officials believe that once these four individuals are in their custody, their interrogation will result in the surfacing of more crucial clues that will help them to make the case watertight against Shahjahan.

Sources said that the ED officials are also desperate to track Shahjahan’s younger brother Sheikh Sirajuddin, who is also absconding.

Sirajuddin was reportedly responsible for handling the financial matters mainly in relation to his elder brother’s fish export business, which was a major channel for diverting ill-gotten proceeds from various illegal sources.

Another point, said sources, which the ED officials are trying to establish, is how a portion of the funds in the multi-crore ration distribution case was channelised through investments in the Shahjahan fisheries and fish export business.

The books of accounts of 50 individuals, including Shahjahan, sources said, are currently under the scanner of the Central agency against whom the investigating officials have secured clues of receiving ration-distribution case proceeds. In due course, ED officials will send notices to some of them for interrogation.

ED has already sent two summons to popular Bengali movie actress Rituparna Sengupta for interrogation in the ration-distribution case. However, she is yet to appear at the ED office.

Sheikh Shahjehan was arrested in February and has been in jail since then. He was suspended by the Trinamool Congress after his arrest.