Sandeshkhali case: Hours after arrest, Shajahan Sheikh suspended from TMC for six years

Sheikh was the party convenor of Sandeshkhali assembly constituency and was also a member of TMC held North 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad.

Kolkata: TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh, accused of sexual abuse and land grab in Sandeshkhali, was suspended from his party following his arrest in the early hours of Thursday.

He was arrested by the West Bengal police after being on the run for 55 days that witnessed violent protests, sparking a fierce political firestorm.

Sheikh was presented before the Basirhat court, which sanctioned a 10-day remand in police custody.

Additional Director-General of Police (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar disclosed that Sheikh was apprehended from a residence in Bamanpukur, located in the Minakhan police station jurisdiction, approximately 30 km from the Sandeshkhali island in the outskirts of Sunderbans, in North 24 Parganas district. He was hiding in the company of several associates.

Another team from Basirhat Police District arrested Amir Gazi, another close associate of Sheikh, from a hideout in Rourkela in neighbouring Odisha, a senior police officer said.

Acting on the mobile phone tower location of Gazi, a team of police from Barishat went to Rourkela on Wednesday night and arrested Gazi, he said.

"He was brought back to the state and produced before a court which remanded him in police custody for five days," the police officer said.

Later in the day, TMC spokesperson Derek O’Brien declared the party's decision to suspend Sheikh for six years.

Sheikh, a central figure in a significant political controversy, emerged from custody around 10:40 am, escorted by law enforcement officers as he made his way to the courtroom, gesturing towards the assembled media.

Following a brief hearing, he was returned to custody and subsequently transferred to Bhabani Bhawan, the state police headquarters in Kolkata, as the CID assumed control of the investigation.

"He has been brought to Bhabani Bhawan for questioning," confirmed a police official.

Sheikh's detention occurred within 24 hours of the Calcutta High Court's ruling that the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), or the West Bengal Police possessed the authority to arrest him.

The news of Sheikh's apprehension prompted jubilation in Sandeshkhali, with locals distributing sweets to commemorate the occasion.

Governor C V Ananda Bose, who had previously set a 72-hour ultimatum for Sheikh's arrest, expressed satisfaction at the development, stating, "There is always light at the end of the tunnel. I welcome it.

"This is the beginning of an end. We have to put an end to the cycle of violence in Bengal. In parts of Bengal, the goons are ruling the roost. This must end, and the gangsters should be put behind bars," he emphasised.

Police said Sheikh was arrested in two cases lodged at the Nazat police station in connection with an assault on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on January 5 during a raid at his house in a ration scam case.

He was booked under IPC sections 147 (guilty of rioting), 148 (guilty of rioting being armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 307 (attempt to murder), 333 (whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt to any person being a public servant) and 392 (robbery), they said.

The decision to suspend Sheikh from the TMC elicited contrasting responses from political quarters.

"We have decided to suspend Shajahan Sheikh from the party for 6 years. As always, we walk the talk. We have set examples in the past, and we are doing that today,” said Trinamool spokesperson, Derek O’Brien.

"But we dare the BJP to suspend leaders, who have corruption cases against them and have several criminal cases against them," O'Brien said at a press conference in Kolkata.

While the TMC attributed the arrest to the court's directives, the BJP, CPI(M), and Congress dismissed it as "orchestrated".

"Due to a legal tangle, he couldn't be arrested initially. However, after the court clarified that there was no stay on his arrest, the West Bengal Police did its job. The opposition had earlier exploited the embargo on his arrest," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told PTI.

The BJP claimed the state police were forced to arrest Sheikh because of its agitations.

"It was the TMC and the state police which were shielding the culprit. He has been arrested now as a part of a well-scripted story. The state administration was forced to arrest him because of the continuous agitation led by us," BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.

CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty questioned why Sheikh was not arrested in the 43 cases that had been filed by the people of Sandeshkhali.

State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury insinuated complicity on the part of the TMC leadership in Sheikh's evasion, characterizing the arrest as a theatrical display.

"It became clear today that anti-socials like Shajahan are assets of the TMC. Shajahan's appearance clearly shows that he was kept in comfort. Today's arrest is nothing but a drama. The TMC knew where Shajahan had been all these days. I hope that the people of Bengal will give a befitting reply to the TMC and teach it a lesson," he said.

Sheikh's apprehension, facilitated by tracking his mobile phone's tower location, prompted the deployment of additional police forces in Sandeshkhali to forestall any potential escalation of unrest. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were enforced in 49 areas on the island.

BJP's co-in charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that Sheikh was arrested by the state police to "preclude" ED and CBI from getting him.

Taking to X, Malviya, who is also the BJP's IT Cell head, said: "Is this an arrest? WB Police is escorting Sheikh Shahjahan like they would escort CM Mamata Banerjee. All these days, Sheikh Shahjahan was under the protection of WB Police.

"As soon as the Calcutta High Court allowed ED and CBI to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan, Mamata Banerjee's police took control of him. They hurriedly took him to a local Court, to preclude ED and CBI lawyers from getting in. No wonder women of #Sandeshkhali have no faith in Mamata Banerjee," he added.