TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan arrested by West Bengal Police; suspended from party

Shubhadeep Choudhury

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New Delhi, February 29

Absconding TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan was today arrested by the West Bengal Police from a house at Minakhan, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali, in North 24 Parganas district.

Editorial: TMC acts at last

Sheikh, facing sexual abuse and land grab charges, was arrested within 24 hours of the Calcutta High Court empowering the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the state police, to arrest him.

Later, Sheikh was suspended by the TMC for six years.

Over 100 complaints have been registered against Sheikh in the past few weeks, which saw violent protests led by women demanding his arrest.

Sheikh had been on the run since the ED raided his house on January 5 in a multi-crore rupee ration scam case. During the raid, Sheikh’s supporters had assaulted ED officials and inflicted serious injuries on some of them. The January 5 incident formed the basis of Sheikh’s arrest today. He has been booked under Sections 147, 148, 149, 307, 333 and 392 of the IPC.

After a Basirhat court sent him to 10 days in police custody, Sheikh was taken to the state CID headquarters at Bhabani Bhawan in Kolkata.

While appearing in the court in a white kurta-pyjama, Sheikh walked with policemen following him. He also flashed a ‘V’ sign at the media contingent waiting there.

Sheikh’s close aides Shibaprasad Hazra, Uttam Sardar and Ajit Maiti have been arrested already.

Governor CV Ananda Bose, who on Monday night gave a 72-hour “deadline” to the state government for Sheikh’s arrest, said, “There is always light at the end of the tunnel. I welcome it.”

“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,” Bose said.

At a press conference in Kolkata, TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien announced the party’s decision to suspend Sheikh. O’Brien challenged the BJP to take action against tainted leaders like Narayan Rane, Himanta Biswa Sarma or Suvendu Adhikari.

The BJP claimed that the police were forced to arrest Sheikh because of its protest. “The state administration was forced to arrest him because of the continuous agitation led by us,” said Sukanta Majumdar, state BJP president.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the police arrested Sheikh to protect him from the ED and the CBI.