A day after the West Bengal government refused to hand over the custody of former Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday issued fresh directions to the state police, asking it to hand over the Sandeshkhali prime accused to the central agency by 4.15 PM today.

The order came on a CBI plea seeking contempt action against the West Bengal government for defying the HC’s order Tuesday. Yesterday, the HC had allowed a plea by the Enforcement Directorate to transfer the probe into the January 5 attack on the agency’s team, allegedly at the behest of Shahjahan, to the CBI.

The High Court had ordered the CID, to which the case was transferred from the Bengal police following his arrest on Ferbruary 29, to hand over the investigation into the attack against ED officials as well as SHahjahan’s custody to the CBI by 4.15 PM on Tuesday.

However, the CID refused to comply with the court’s directives and moved Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing into a plea challenging the HC’s order. The plea is yet to be listed for hearing by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.

On Tuesday, the CBI took over the investigation into the case from the CID and is learnt to have filed three FIRs in the case. Appearing for the ED in the Calcutta HC today, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju informed that the government did not hand Shahjahan’s custody as it had moved the Supreme Court against the HC’s order.

“There is no order staying the High Court order. This is contempt of the High Court order. It cannot wait…the purpose of the order is frustrated then,” the ASG said.

The CBI’s counsel said the probe agency had communicated the High Court order to all officials of West Bengal. “Letters have been sent to the DGP, Chief Secretary, including Addtl DG, CID,” the CBI counsel said, citing a letter by the West Bengal DGP stating that that the matter was mentioned before the Supreme Court and that the CBI should wait for its disposal.

With Lok Sabha elections around the corner, the Sandeshkhali issue has turned into a massive political row between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal. Following the attack on the ED team on January 5, several complaints have been filed by women of Sandeskhali alleging sexual assault and land-grabbing by Shahjahan and his supporters.

Addressing a rally in Barasat on Wednesday, Prime Minister narendra Modi accused the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the state of shielding the perpetrators of Sandeshkhali.

“Under TMC, women of this pious land have been violated. The events of Sandeshkhali would make anyone feel ashamed but the TMC govt does not care about your struggles. TMC govt is hell-bent on saving the perpetrator. Their acts were first condemned by the High Court and then the Supreme Court as well. Leaders of TMC are torturing the women of poor, Dalit, and Adivasis groups. TMC govt trusts its leaders more than it trusts the women of Bengal,” PM Modi said.