ED arrests suspended TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan in Sandeskhali land-grabbing case
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan in connection with a land grabbing case in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali.
His arrest followed questioning by probe agency officials at Basirhat jail, where he is currently locked up.
Several women from Sandeshkhali village in West Bengal had levelled accusations of land seizure and sexual coercion against Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates.
On February 29, Shahjahan was taken into custody by the West Bengal Police for his involvement in an assault perpetrated by his supporters on an Enforcement Directorate team.
The team was assaulted en route to conducting a search at Shahjahan's residence in Sandeshkhali.
However, it was only after the second Calcutta High Court order that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could secure Shahjahan’s custody on March 6.
After the Calcutta High Court’s first order, directing the West Bengal CID to hand over Shahjahan to the CBI, the state government moved the Supreme Court seeking a dismissal of the high court’s order.
In the meantime, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing the money trail in the alleged ration scam, moved a division bench of Calcutta High Court headed by Harish Tandon, which ordered the CID of West Bengal police to handover the accused to CBI by 4.15 PM on March 6. Following the order, the CID handed over Shahjahan’s custody to CBI.
Sandeshkhali incident
The turmoil in Sandeshkhali, a remote block about 80 kms from Kolkata and a part of the Basirhat sub-division of North 24 Parganas district, broke out first in early January when a team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) reached TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan's residence to quiz him in connection with the ration distribution scam in the state.
Shahjahan's aides allegedly assaulted and chased the ED officers turning the area into a political hotspot months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Several women from the village came out with brooms and sticks demanding the arrest of the TMC strongman.
The protesting women have alleged Shahjahan and his aides captured several lands forcefully and sexually harassed them.
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