Party does not support unlawful work: TMC expels ‘land-grab leader’ Ajit Maiti
Telegraph | 26 February 2024
The Trinamul leadership on Sunday made it clear yet again that the party will not stand with those leaders who allegedly committed atrocities on villagers in Sandeshkhali.
To walk the talk, Trinamul ousted Bermajur anchal committee president Ajit Maiti within 24 hours of his appointment on the charges of landgrab and torture.
The party leader who took shelter at the house of a civic volunteer around 2pm after being chased by a group of angry women, armed with sticks, brooms and an axe or two. The women then gheraoed his hiding place, was eventually detained by police after five hours based on complaints of atrocities against him.
Senior Trinamul leader and irrigation minister Partha Bhowmick, in Sandeshkhali on Sunday, said: "Unlawful work of certain individuals (of Trinamul) led to the unrest among people in Sandeshkhali, which the party does not support."
"People must vent their anger against leaders if they commit wrongdoings," Bhowmick added, announcing Maiti’s ouster.
Maiti was appointed the party's local unit president on Saturday, replacing Sirajuddin Sheikh, the brother of absconding party strongman Shahjahan Sheikh.
However, villagers accused Maiti of working as a stooge of Shahjahan and Sirajuddin as well as of unleashing atrocities on them using his political clout.
In Maheshtala, Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee iterated that the party did not support “unlawful” work. He claimed that the arrest of Shahjahan was delayed because of the high court’s interference.
"Trinamul is not guarding Shahjahan but the judiciary.... Lift the stay (order) and see what the police do next," he said.
The Diamond Harbour MP also said that the protest in Sandeshkhali "needs to be probed by police".
"No matter how big the leader is, if anyone is involved in any injustice, strict action will be taken against him by the state government," he added.
In Sandeshkhali, Trinamul on Sunday was compelled to take action against Maiti in the wake of the fresh agitation by around 200 village women in Bermajur.
On Sunday morning, Maiti was waiting for party leaders Partha Bhowmik and Sujit Bose to reach Bermajur. Village women watching Maiti became agitated, local sources said, and chased him for about 200 metres until he took shelter at the house of a civic volunteer. Maiti was confined there until a police team led by DIG-Barasat range Bhaskar Mukherjee rushed in. Mukherjee asked the women to disperse and lodge a written complaint against Maiti. But the women refused to budge, demanding Maiti’s arrest. Finally, the police detained him and took him away to Minakhan police station.
"There are several complaints against Maiti, which will be examined. If required, he will be arrested," a senior police officer of Basirhat police district said.
Maiti, who was Trinamul’s anchal committee secretary for about two years, before becoming president on Saturday, appeared “panicky” on Sunday.
On Friday also, villagers had attacked Maiti and vandalised his house, but he had managed to flee.
The anger against him was palpable. "Ajit Maiti used to keep a low profile but is as dangerous as Uttam Sardar and Shibaprasad Hazra, who were the main aides of Shahjahan Sheikh. Ajit used to look after the Bermajur area as an agent of Shahjahan and his brother Sirajuddin, to identify agricultural land to occupy it forcefully for converting it to bheris (ponds for pisciculture). It was also his job to identify the villagers who dared to raise their voice against such landgrab or go to the police for justice," alleged a woman who joined the demonstration on Sunday.
"It was on his orders that the police used to implicate our men in false cases," the woman added.
Maiti denied the charges, blaming the Sheikh brothers for the atrocities. He claimed he was a “stooge” in their hands.
Claiming he was originally a BJP activist, he added that he was threatened and beaten up by Sirajuddin to work for him. “I never committed a crime… but got myself spoilt living with rotten leaders," he said expressing his desire to quit Trinamul.
Minister Bhowmick, meeting people in pockets of Sandeshkhali with cabinet colleague Sujit Bose, however, said: "Any work that harms people can never be supported. Maiti has been removed and two of our senior party men have been asked to look after the organisation in Bermajur. We have assured the people that their lands will be returned."
A village woman, who was among those who had gheraoed Maiti on Sunday, said: "We hope the police arrest Maiti, else they will face a different situation tomorrow (Tuesday)."
Earlier in the day, an independent fact-finding team of six members, headed by former Patna High Court Chief Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, was arrested briefly in Bhojerhat by the police when the team was on its way to Sandeshkhali. A Congress team was prevented entry the same way. During a scuffle with the police, Congress spokesperson Soumya Aich Roy fainted, sources said.