Kolkata: Weeks after serious allegations of sexual harassment, land grabbing, and coercion by hundreds of women and locals in Bengal’s Sandeshkhali area, Bengal police has arrested Trinamool Congress strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.
Police produced him in the Basirhat court today, ADG (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar said, and has secured a 10-day custody.
Reports say that Shahjahan was arrested from his house in Minakhah in the North 24 Parganas district.
Shahjahan has been untraceable since January 5 when the locality of Sandeshkhali shot to the headlines when supporters of the TMC leader attacked a team of Enforcement Directorate officials who had planned to search his residence in connection with the ration distribution scam.
On February 26, a division bench of the Calcutta high court led by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam said that there is no stay on the arrest of Shahjahan.
“Arrest him. Complaints were made as many as four years ago, why was he not arrested?” asked the bench, which also comprised Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya.
TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and Lok Sabha member of parliament Abhishek Banerjee had earlier said that police could not arrest Shahjahan because of a stay on his arrest by the courts.
Opposition leaders have been alleging in that the police were shielding the TMC leader.
This is a developing story and will be updated as news comes in.
