The Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan was apprehended by West Bengal Police from the Minakhan area in North 24 Parganas. He is the main accused in the land grab and sexual violence case that has been reported by several women in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali.
Aminul Islam Khan, the SDPO of Minakhan, confirmed Shahjahan’s arrest and mentioned that he was subsequently escorted to Basirhat Court at 2 pm today, February 29.
The arrest comes after 55 days of absconding and three days after the Calcutta High Court criticized the state police for the delay in arresting the TMC leader, emphasizing that he should be arrested.
A significant number of women in Sandeshkhali had accused Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grabbing and coercive sexual assault. The riverine area has witnessed ongoing protests for over a month, calling for the arrest of Sheikh and his associates.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has received 50 complaints of “sexual abuse and land grab” from tribal families against the Trinamool leader and his associates. State government officials have indicated receiving nearly 1,250 complaints, including 400 related to land disputes.
West Bengal State President Sukanta Majumdar stated that due to the continuous agitation by the BJP, the government was compelled to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan. He mentioned that initially, the government was in denial mode, not even accepting that anything as such had happened, according to a report by ANI.
According to him, he had already mentioned the intention to compel the government to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan. “Today, due to the agitation of the BJP and the women of Sandeshkhali, government and Mamata Banerjee are compelled to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan” he said.
Trinamool MP Santanu Sen mentioned that Shahjahan’s arrest was delayed due to the “stay order” and asserted that the arrest demonstrates that “our government adheres to ‘rajdharma’ in an administrative capacity.” He further suggested that the BJP should learn ‘rajdharma’ from the TMC.
Since January 5, Shajahan has been on the run, following an incident where a group allegedly associated with him attacked Enforcement Directorate officials during a raid on his premises related to a scam.
The High Court is scheduled to hear the case against Shahjahan on March 4.