Suspended Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan – the key accused in the Sandeshkhali extortion, land grab, and sexual assault cases – was transferred to the custody of the CBI Wednesday evening, capping a two-day stand-off between the Bengal government and the central agency.

On Tuesday the Calcutta High Court had ordered the state to hand over Shahjahan, and all case materials, to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The state was given till 4.30 pm but refused to comply, citing a last-gasp appeal at the Supreme Court, which had refused an urgent hearing.

When the CBI team reached Bengal Police’s HQ in Kolkata, they were forced to return empty-handed. They were told Shahjahan would remain in police custody till the Supreme Court’s ruling.

READ | Bengal, CBI In Stand-Off Over Shahjahan, Supreme Court Moved

This afternoon, an irate High Court set a new deadline – 4.15 pm. The court underlined the seriousness of the state disregarding an order passed by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, and said, “Supreme Court has not ordered a stay. So Shahjahan must be handed over to the CBI by 4.15 pm…”

The High Court also issued a notice of contempt and asked Bengal Police’s Criminal Investigation Department, which had custody of Sheikh Shahjahan, to file an affidavit within two weeks.

READ | CBI Team At Bengal Police HQ For Shahjahan As Deadline Ends

In yesterday’s hearing the High Court held the police to be “totally biased” and called for a “fair, honest, and complete investigation” into allegations against Shahjahan. “There can be no better case than this… which requires to be transferred (and) to be investigated by the CBI,” it observed.

Sheikh Shahjahan went on the run on January 5, the day a mob of his supporters attacked an Enforcement Directorate team. Nearly two months later, he was arrested – three days after the state’s stand-off, this time with the High Court – and suspended from the Trinamool for six years.

READ | Sandeshkhali Accused Shahjahan, On The Run For 55 Days, Arrested

The High Court on Tuesday ruled on separate pleas – from the ED and the state government – to its earlier order on the setting up of a team of CBI officials and cops. The ED wanted the case to be handled only by its central counterpart, while the police did not want the CBI involved at all.

In a separate development, the ED said it had provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 12.78 crore in connection with the Sheikh Shahjahan case.

The Shahjahan-Sandeshkhali row has become a major flashpoint in the state weeks before the Lok Sabha election. The BJP has accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government of shielding its former leader, while the Trinamool today pointed to former national wrestling body chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a sitting BJP MP who was accused of sexual assault by women wrestlers.

READ | On PM’s Shahjahan Barbs, Trinamool’s Brij Bhushan Counter

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Bengal last week and, in his first public comment on the Sandeshkhali row, accused the Trinamool of shielding its former member.

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There is no impropriety in a sitting High Court judge resigning and joining a political party, former judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay insisted to NDTV today in an exclusive interview.

Mr Gangopadhyay – who made headlines with his rulings and has had run-ins with lawyers, judges, and senior leaders from Bengal’s ruling Trinamool – quit the Calcutta High Court Tuesday afternoon.

Hours later he confirmed what was known – he will join the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

This evening he told NDTV his swift career change had been triggered by “insulting remarks from Trinamool persons… when I was discover huge corruption and trying to justice”.

“My resignation is the result of insulting remarks by Trinamool persons against me… when I was trying to do justice as I was exploring and discovering huge corruption in education appointments – school teachers and employees in different schools – in the state,” Mr Gangopadhyay said.

“When I passed orders for the CBI to investigate, they started making insulting comments against me… not the judgement, but personal attacks,” he continued, attacking his critics. “These Trinamool people are almost half-educated… do not know what to say to a judge, but they challenged me.”

“They challenged me to come to politics,” he said, “So I started thinking… I got some impetus from them. So now the time has come to stand beside large number of helpless people of our state.”

READ | Calcutta High Court Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay Resigns, To Join BJP

Mr Gangopadhyay was pressed on the question of propriety; it was pointed to him that it was unprecedented for a sitting judge to resign and immediately join a political party, particularly when several of his rulings seemed to side against that party’s apparent rival, i.e., the Trinamool.

“No. Not at all. What bad precedent? No… this is Trinamool persons trying to get out of facing corruption charges by raising this question, when they know many leaders, some in jail and some who will be arrested, will be convicted. These are worthless, meaningless questions.”

Mr Gangopadhyay also laughed off questions from political and legal analysts, declaring, “Tell analysts to gain knowledge about politics and legal theories…”

READ | From Courts To Votes: Abhijit Gangopadhyay And His Controversies

He said talks with the BJP had begun “recently… only three-four days (ago)”, and stressed, “From the time I started thinking about politics I have not done any adjudication. I took leave from my court and, thereafter, I resigned,” he explained. Mr Gangopadhyay is expected to join the BJP on Thursday.

He told NDTV he had decided to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party because it is a “good platform in Bengal, when no other parties have influence… even CPM or Congress. BJP has potential and is raising some issues that will go hand-in-hand with people of Bengal.”

The former judge did not, however, comment on speculation he could get a Lok Sabha ticket.

There has been talk he could be fielded from the Tamluk constituency, which has been won by the Trinamool in each of the past three elections. “Question of Lok Sabha seat will be decided by the party. I didn’t join for election and I have no business in making these comments,” he said.

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The highly praised film All of Us Strangers, featuring Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott, is an adaptation of Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers. Originally, the novel was adapted into the 1988 Japanese film The Discarnates. However, the new adaptation, directed by Andrew Haigh, takes the story from Tokyo to London, showcasing Haigh’s creative vision.

The director said “Adapting the book was a long and sometimes painful process. I wanted to pick away at my own past as Adam does in the film. I was interested in exploring the complexities of both familial and romantic love, but also the distinct experience of a specific generation of gay people growing up in the 80s. I wanted to move away from the traditional ghost story of the novel and find something more psychological, almost metaphysical.” Yamada and his family were incredibly respectful of Haigh’s vision. 

Andrew Haigh, renowned for his poignant portrayals of human relationships in movies such as Weekend and 45 Years, brings his unique style to All of Us Strangers. The story revolves around Adam, a screenwriter dealing with past grief, portrayed by Andrew Scott. Adam’s life undergoes a transformation when he encounters his neighbour Harry, played by Paul Mescal, disrupting his solitary life.