‘This is 100% murder’: Truck hits vehicle of Sandeshkhali gang-rape case witness, son dies; kin claim driver 'known to them'
Times of India | 11 December 2025
KOLKATA: A key witness in CBI and ED land-grab cases against Sandeshkhali gang-rape accused Sheikh Shahjahan narrowly escaped death after a 10-wheeler truck bludgeoned his car into a roadside ditch while he was on his way to testify in court in a land-grab case against the former Trinamool strongman on Wednesday morning.
Bholanath Ghosh, 64, escaped with injuries on his face and neck, but younger son Satyajit and the car driver died in the “accident”, which happened at a spot on Basanti Highway that is not covered by any CCTV camera.
Ghosh’s family alleged the truck, whose driver is known to them, deliberately hit the car and the “accident” was plotted by Shahjahan from jail. Cops said all angles, “including sa-botage”, are being probed.
Shahjahan, who was a zilla parishad office-bearer in North 24 Parganas, is an accused in multiple gang-rape and land-grab cases. He was expelled from Trinamool after CBI arrested him in Feb 2024.
Ghosh, an ally-turned-foe of Shahjahan, was headed to a Basirhat court to testify against the strongman when his car was hit by the truck at 9.17 am near Boyamari petrol station, under Nazat police station, around 12 km from Sandeshkhali.
Ghosh was sitting beside the driver, Shahanur Molla. Satyajit was sitting on the right side of the rear seat.
Satyajit and Shahanur suffered maximum injuries after the truck rammed the car and pushed it into a roadside ditch. Villagers cut open the mangled vehicle to drag the victims out. Satyajit and Shahanur were declared ‘brought dead’ at Minakhan Rural Hospital.
Ghosh was shifted to a private hospital in Kolkata, from where he was discharged in the evening.
Truck driver a Sandeshkhali resident
The truck hit us and the next moment we were in water. I saw Alim jump out of the truck before passing out. This was planned,” said Ghosh. His elder son, Biswajit, alleged Shahjahan and his aides — Nazat panchayat samiti head Sabita Roy and deputy, Moslem Sheikh — were behind the incident. “Shahjahan is in touch with both. They orchestrated the attack. This is 100% murder,” he said. He said the truck driver lives in Sandeshkhali’s Laukhali village. Roy and Moslem denied the charges.
Basirhat SP Hossain Mehdi Rahman said, “We are probing all angles, including sabotage. A raid is on to nab the truck driver and owner.”
Lawyers at Basirhat court said Ghosh lives in the same Sandeshkhali neighbourhood as Shajahan. “In 2021, Shahjahan and his associates had vandalised Ghosh’s house, implicated him in several false cases and forced him to flee,” said a lawyer.
Junior Union minister Sukanta Majumdar posted on X, “Reports indicate that the truck was being driven by Abdul Halim Mollah — one of Shahjahan’s closest aides — along with his associate Nazrul Mollah. Abdul has long been listed as a fugitive in CBI records. It is therefore evident that this was no accident but a cold, calculated act of murder.” Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari reiterated that all trials against Shahjahan be moved out of Bengal.
Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “If BJP netas have information, they should give it to probe agencies. Let me not go into witness elimination in BJP states. Unnao and Hathras was not far ago. Police are probing the case. In Bengal, investigations are conducted fairly.”