The arrest of Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh, accused of sexual atrocities and land grabbing in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, is unlikely to put an end to the ongoing political turfwar, with the opposition BJP indicating the party's plans to push the issue further.
“Picture abhi baki hai (the show is yet to end),” said Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. “This isn't an arrest; it's a mutual adjustment”.
Shahjahan, who had been on the run since January 15, was arrested by the state police a day after the Calcutta High Court ruled that the central agencies could also carry out the fugitive's apprehension.
The saffron party takes credit for the arrest of Shahjahan, but it also feels that the government acted under pressure from the court and also in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled public address in Arambag in Hooghly district on Friday.
Shahjahan went into hiding after a mob affiliated to him attacked and chased away a team of Enforcement Directorate officials who had reached Sandeshkhali to raid his premises in connection with a separate corruption case.
“Only one Shajahan has been arrested. There are many more Shajahans spread across the state,” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said.
The high court on Monday directed police to arrest Shahjahan and expressed surprise at the fact that the incidents of atrocities in Sandeshkhali were reported to the state police four years ago.
The island village has been witnessing protests for over a month after scores of women took to the streets alleging that Shahjahan and his supporters had illegally grabbed their lands and had been sexually abusing them.
According to police, Sheikh was apprehended from a residence in Bamanpukur, located in the Minakhan police station jurisdiction, approximately 30 km from Sandeshkhali. He was hiding in the company of several associates.
Following a brief hearing at a local court that affirmed his 10-day police remand, Sheikh was transferred for interrogation to Bhabani Bhawan, the state police headquarters in Kolkata, as the CID assumed control of the investigation.
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), police confirmed.
Following the arrest, the TMC has suspended him from the party for six years.
