54 days after attack on ED team, TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan is finally nabbed
Telegraph | 2 March 2024
Bengal police arrested Sheikh Shahjahan late on Wednesday night, 54 days after an attack on an Enforcement Directorate team at his purported provocation catapulted him to the headlines and helped bring to light his reign of terror in Sandeshkhali, marked by alleged land-grab and assaults on women.
The Trinamul strongman, in hiding since the January 5 mob assault on ED officials, was taken into custody from Bamanpukur in Minakhan police station’s area, nearly 31km from Sandeshkhali, North 24-Parganas.
The arrest comes within two days of Calcutta High Court clarifying there was no stay on his arrest — a purported restriction the Trinamul leadership had cited to explain the police’s inability to nab him.
Second, the police have arested him two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled Bengal visit.
“The state administration can claim brownie points by saying the police arrested Shahjahan within two days of the court clarification,” a political observer said.
He said the timing of the arrest would also rob Modi of an opportunity to go after the state administration.
“We have arrested Sheikh Shahjahan, one of the prime accused in the attack on ED officials... from Minakhan area on Wednesday night,” said Supratim Sarkar, additional director-general of police (South Bengal).
Trinamul, embarrassed by the reports of sexual abuse of women and land-grab by Shajahan and his cronies, cited the arrest to swat away Opposition allegations of a law-and-order breakdown in Bengal.
It also sought to claim the moral high ground by suspending Shahjahan from the party for six years.
The Bengal BJP, which has been striving to milk Sandeshkhali politically in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, termed the arrest a “mutual understanding”.
Leader of the Opposition
Suvendu Adhikari said the party would continue its protests in the area.
After
the arrest, Shahjahan was
brought to the Minakhan police station and then sent to the lockup at Basirhat
court. He was produced in court around 10.30am.
As Shahjahan — sporting a white kurta and
white trousers and a pair of white sneakers — strode down the court corridor,
questions from the media flew in thick and fast.
His
face expressionless, Shajahan increased his pace and waved his right index
finger in a mode of denial.
“His
swagger suggested he has no fear or remorse,” a police source who saw him from
close at the court said.
At
the hearing, the police mentioned several serious charges, such as attempt to
murder and preventing government officials from carrying out their duties. The
court sent Shahjahan to police
custody for 10 days.
“On
January 5, one of the deputy directors of the Enforcement Directorate had
lodged a criminal case against Sheikh Shahjahan under
several charges, including an attempt to murder, with the Nazat police station.
He was produced before the court on Thursday for his alleged involvement in
this particular case,” said Arun Pal, assistant public prosecutor.
The
Bengal police too had filed a suo motu case against Shahjahan, at the same police station, on
January 5 following the attack on the ED officials who had arrived to raid his
house in Sarberia, Sandeshkhali, in connection with the PDS scam.
“Shahjahan was ‘shown arrested’ in this
particular case,” said Raja Bhowmick, Shahjahan’s
advocate. “I had appealed before the court to remain present during
interrogation under Section 41D of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). It
was granted.”
Keeping
in mind the experience of January 5, the police did not risk keeping Shahjahan in the area and brought him to
Bhabani Bhavan, the state police headquarters in Alipore, around 12.30pm. He
has been lodged in a third-floor cell.
“The
case has been transferred to the CID; officers will soon start interrogating
him,” a source said.
While
Trinamul played up the arrest as an achievement, the Opposition wondered
why Shahjahan could not be
arrested for close to two months since the January 5 complaint.
Countering
the charge of delayed arrest, ADG Sarkar, the head of the police in south
Bengal, again said that a high court “stay” had come in the way of Shahjahan’s arrest. “The state police couldn’t
arrest Shahjahan after the
January 5 incident due to legal complications,” Sarkar said on Thursday.
“The
ED had appealed for a stay on the proceedings, and the investigation
against Shahjahan had to be
stopped after the high court granted the plea. A few days ago, once the court
clarified there were no restrictions on Shahjahan’s
arrest, we went all out looking for him.”
“It
takes time to collect evidence and investigate charges before we can arrest
anyone. There are charges of deliberate delay in arresting Shahjahan. Let me clarify that this allegation
is completely wrong. We had legal compulsions,” Sarkar said.