Kolkata, Feb 29 (PTI) TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh’s arrest on Thursday triggered a tsunami of reactions with Bengal’s ruling party saying due to a “legal tangle” he couldn’t be apprehended initially and the BJP hitting back claiming “police action” was scripted.
The Left Front leaders also alleged that the arrest of Sheikh was stage-managed.
The BJP tried to project the day’s development as a victory for the party saying that the arrest took place due to its sustained agitation.
Sheikh, facing allegations of sexual misconduct and land encroachment, was arrested by Bengal police. Later, he was sent to 10-day police custody by a local court.
“Due to legal complexities, his arrest was initially hindered. However, following the court’s clarification that no stay was imposed on his arrest, the West Bengal Police executed their duty. The opposition had earlier exploited the constraints on his apprehension,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
“This isn’t an arrest, it’s a mutual adjustment,” said state Leader of Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, in Sandeshkhali. He visited the restive area after the high court on Wednesday allowed him to go there.
“Picture abhi baki hai (the show is yet to end),” he added, indicating the party’s plans to push the issue further.
Adhikari wasn’t the only one to drop that hint. The party’s state president Sukanta Majumdar said, “Only one Shajahan has been arrested. There are many more Shajahans spread across the state.” A senior BJP tried to link the timing of the arrest with the scheduled visit of PM Narendra Modi to West Bengal on Friday.
“It’s quite possible that the Trinamool was apprehending a further loss of face if the Prime Minister himself raised the issue of the state’s inability to nab a local leader on the run for 55 days,” the senior BJP leader said.
The fact that Sheikh was suspended from the Trinamool post his arrest and removed from all party positions, failed to impress the opposition with leaders across the board calling the move an “eyewash”.
The state police though strongly rejected the opposition’s theories on Sheikh’s arrest timing.
“The ED approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a stay on the investigation. The state police could not arrest the accused due to legal hurdles. That the police did not arrest him deliberately, is entirely wrong,” ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar said.
Sarkar had said 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.
Sheikh 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), police confirmed.
Trinamool spokesperson Derek O’Brien said, “We have decided to suspend Shajahan Sheikh from the party for six years. As always, we walk the talk. We have set examples in the past, and we are doing that today.” “But we dare the BJP to suspend leaders, who have corruption cases against them and have several criminal cases against them,” he said at a press conference in Kolkata.
The party continued to persist on its stand on “court-imposed obstacle” to Shajahan’s arrest and claimed vindication of its general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s claim that the police had their hands tied by a high court order, until they were allowed to act.
BJP’s IT cell head, Amit Malviya said on X, “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.” Governor CV Ananda Bose, who had previously set a 72-hour ultimatum for Sheikh’s arrest, expressed satisfaction at Sheikh’s arrest, 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. PTI SCH PNT AMR SMY NN MNB
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