Trinamool Congress suspends Sandeshkhali accused Sheikh Shahjahan for 6 yrs

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) suspended Sheikh Shahjahan, the main accused of the Sandeshkhali case, from the party for six years, on Thursday hours after his arrest. He has been accused of sexually assaulting several women for days and land grabbing.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) team was assaulted on January 5 when they had attempted to raid Shahjahan home, in connection to a scam probe. Following the incident, Shahjahan absconded, leading to protests by local villagers who came forward with the alleged crimes committed by Shahjahan and his men.

Shahjahan was apprehended after being on the run for 55 days amidst violent protests in the region led by the local women. Additional Director-General of Police (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar stated that Shahjahan was found in his house in Bamanpukur with a few of his associates. This is around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali on the outskirts of Sunderbans, in North 24 Parganas district.

The TMC local leader was taken into custody within 24 hours after the Calcutta High Court permitted all agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the ED, and the West Bengal Police to arrest him. The court was necessary as a previous legal tangle prevented the police from arresting the Sheikh Shahjahan.

The protests in Sandeshkhali also led to political unrest with the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing the TMC of inaction against Shahjahan and compromising the safety of women in the region.

Responding to this, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told PTI that the embargo on his arrest was the only reason he was not arrested sooner and that the Opposition "exploited" this.

Shahjahan's hearing hearing lasted less than 2 minutes, after which he was was taken to an undisclosed location by the police.