Sandeshkhali strongman Sheikh Shahjahan removed from rural post after his arrest
Telegraph | 2 March 2024
The North 24-Parganas district administration on Friday removed Sheikh Shahjahan from the post of karmadhakshya of the fisheries department at the zilla parishad following his arrest.
On Friday, his nameplate was also removed from outside his room at the North 24-Parganas zilla parishad office in Barasat.
On Thursday, the Trinamul Congress had suspended him from the party for six years.
Sabhadhipati Narayan Goswami said: “Since the party suspended him after arrest, the message was clear to us.... As an obvious consequence, he has been removed from the post of karmadhakshya.”
“For now, I will look after his departments and appoint a replacement on the advice of the party,” he added.
While Trinamul tries to distance itself from Shahjahan and win the confidence of the people, in Sandeshkhali, protests refuse to die.
Villagers refused to relent as they continued agitations demanding the arrest of Trinamul leaders and organised rallies.
In Bermajur-I, villagers staged demonstrations demanding the arrest of Trinamul leader Tapan Bhuniya. They accused the leader of land grabbing, siphoning money from housing schemes, and assaulting them. Police, however, dispersed the rally at Jhupkhali village assuring a probe.
“Tapan, a close aide of Shahjahan and Uttam, used to force us for cut money as we availed of benefits under welfare schemes. He assaulted us whenever we tried to raise our voices against his demand. We lodged complaints against him, but police so far did not arrest him,” a homemaker who joined the rally said.
In Bouthakurani village, local residents demonstrated demanding the arrest of former gram panchayat member Dilip Mullick accusing him of land grabbing and siphoning money from 100 days’ job scheme.
“He used to take away our job cards till we paid his share,” a villager said.
Amid such protests and demonstrations, celebration over the arrest of Shiekh Shahjahan continued in several pockets of the island as villagers distributed sweets and smeared themselves with gulal.
Minister visits
In a damage control exercise, irrigation minister Partha Bhowmik led a team of engineers and experts to examine whether land filled with saline water could be made fertile for cultivation.
Shahjahan and aides have been accused of turning fertile stretches into bheris by filling them with seawater.
“Villagers have demanded help to retain fertility which our experts examined today. We have assured them of all support and return their land so that they can cultivate those again,” Bhowmick said after visiting some damaged agricultural land in the Karnaphuli area.