Hours after his arrest by West Bengal police, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday suspended strongman Shahjahan Sheikh, accused in the Sandeshkhali case, for six years from the party.
“TMC has decided to suspend Sheikh Shahjahan from the party for six years,” said TMC leader Derek O’Brien in Kolkata. Brien further challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to suspend their leaders who have corruption cases and several criminal charges against them.
Sheikh, who had been evading authorities for the past 55 days was arrested by state police earlier in the day, and subsequently, a local court remanded him to police custody for 10 days.
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The charges against Sheikh and his associates relate to allegations of land grab and sexual harassment, which emerged in the aftermath of violent protests in the Sandeshkhali island of North 24 Parganas district.
Sheikh had been on the run since January 5, following an incident where a mob of his supporters attacked a team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials near his residence in Sandeshkhali.
He was apprehended close to midnight in the North 24 Parganas district by a special Bengal police team. After the arrest, he was taken to Basirhat court.
The arrest came three days after the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice ordered to add Sheikh Shahjahan to the Sandeshkhali case. On February 26, Calcutta HC Justice asked to issue a notice in the case stating, “There is no reason to not arrest him.”
Notably, a day before Sheikh’s arrest, the high court issued a directive allowing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), or the West Bengal Police to apprehend him.
Sandeshkhali witnessed extensive protests this month over allegations of land grab and sexual atrocities on women by Sheikh and his associates. Several women in Sandeshkhali have levelled accusations of “land-grab and sexual assault” under coercion against Sheikh and his supporters.