Senior Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh on Monday said party strongman Shahjahan Sheikh, who has been accused of sexual atrocities and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal, will be arrested in seven days.
The TMC leader’s assertion comes immediately after the Calcutta High Court clarified that there is no stay on the arrest of Shahjahan.
“About the arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan, Abhishek Banerjee is correct. The matter was stuck in the legal tangle of the court. The opposition was doing politics using this opportunity. Thanks to the High Court today for clarifying the matter and allowing the police to take action. Shahjahan will be arrested within seven days,” Ghosh posted on X.
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had on Sunday claimed that Shahjahan could not be arrested because of legal tangles and stay on FIRs filed by the police.
The court directed that Shahjahan, the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the state home secretary be impleaded as parties in the suo motu matter initiated on the allegations of sexual atrocities on women and the land grab of tribal people.
Bharatiya Janata Party used the occasion to taka a dig at the TMC.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla alleged that TMC leader Kunal Ghosh’s assertion that Shajahan Sheikh will be arrested in seven days shows that he was never on the run and has been given state-sponsored protection in West Bengal.
It is a testimony that Sheikh has always been in the sight of the TMC leaders, Poonawalla told reporters.
The riverine Sandeshkhali area — situated on the borders of the Sundarbans, about 100 kilometres from Kolkata — has been on the boil for more than a month with protests against Shahjahan, who is absconding, and his supporters.
The unrest in the area stems from accusations against Shahjahan and his supporters of land grabbing and sexual assault with the local TMC strongman evading authorities since a mob attack on Enforcement Directorate officials on January 5.
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