The arrest of Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh, the key accused in the land grab and sexual assault cases 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 was arrested by the state police a day after the Calcutta High Court ruled that central agencies could also carry out the fugitive's apprehension.
The saffron party takes credit for the arrest of Shahjahan who had been on the run since January 15 when a mob affiliated to him attacked and chased away a team of the Enforcement Directorate officials who had reached Sandeshkhali to raid his premises in connection with a separate corruption case.
The opposition party, however, feels that the arrest came 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.
“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.
According to police, Sheikh was apprehended from a residence in Bamanpukur, located in the Minakhan police station jurisdiction, approximately 30 km from the Sandeshkhali island on the outskirts of Sunderbans, in North 24 Parganas district. He was hiding in the company of several associates.
Following a brief hearing at court which 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.
