Sheikh Shahjahan submits ‘retraction' petition to withdraw statements made before ED

Kolkata: The counsel for suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan on Saturday filed a ‘retraction' petition in a special PMLA court, seeking permission to withdraw the statements made by Shahjahan before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) while in its custody.

Shahjahan’s counsel claimed in the hand-written petition that his client was under pressure from the ED to give false statements in the money laundering cases lodged against him.

The ED counsel, however, objected to the hand-written retraction petition, claiming it was not clear if the contents of the letter were penned by the accused. The ED counsel also argued against the contents of the letter, which accused the central agency of putting pressure on Shahjahan to give false statements.

After hearing both sides, the judge of the special court listed the matter for a detailed hearing on April 15.

To recall, suspended Trinamool youth wing leader Kuntal Ghosh, who is currently in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the cash-for-school jobs case, had also claimed that the ED put pressure on him to name the party's National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee as an accused in the case.