The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday clarified that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are at liberty to arrest absconding Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh.
The ED and the CBI told the Bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya that they had serious reservations about the West Bengal Police probing the allegations against the Trinamool Congress leader.
During the hearing of the matter ‘Court on its own motion vs State of West Bengal’, Deputy Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi argued, “The single judge, in the order of constituting an SIT to probe the attack on ED officers, had clearly asked the local police not to probe the case. We have an apprehension that the local police will dilute the entire case against him.”
The Bench, however, proceeded to clarify that both the CBI and the ED were free to arrest Shahjahan. “A person, who is an elected representative of the public and elected to the office to head the Zilla Parishad, cannot be permitted to abscond. He cannot evade law,” Chief Justice Sivagnanam observed.
In the earlier hearing on February 26, the Bench said that there was no stay on the arrest of Mr. Shahjahan. The State’s Advocate General Kishore Datta had submitted before the Bench during the last hearing that 43 cases (of rape and other offences) were registered in the last four years in Sandeshkhali.
“Mr. AG, we see so many cases, wherein in petty offences also, an FIR is lodged in the morning and by afternoon the accused are arrested and jailed. Your machinery is so efficient but it defies logic that this man hasn’t been arrested for so many days now,” Chief Justice Sivagnanam observed.
In a related development, another Bench of the Calcutta High Court granted bail to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bikash Singh, who was arrested in connection with protests at Sandeshkhali. On February 27, the court had granted bail to CPI(M) leader Nirapada Sardar.
During the day, the BJP leadership led by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari held protests in Kolkata on the Sandeshkhali issue. The BJP has started a two-day dharna in Kolkata, protesting against the “decline” in law and order in West Bengal. Mr. Adhikari claimed that Mr. Shahjahan has been in the “safe custody” of the police.
“Seikh Shahjahan has been in the safe custody of Mamata Police since 12 a.m. last night. He was taken away from the Bermajur-II Gram Panchayat area, after he managed to negotiate a deal with the Mamata Police, through influential mediators, that he would be taken care of properly while in police and judicial custody,” the BJP leader posted on X.
While the BJP leadership has been drawing parallels between the Sandeshkhali unrest and the protests at Singur and Nandigram during the Left Front regime, the Trinamool Congress has been trying to argue that there are no similarities.
“Singur and Nandigram were different. One should not mix one with the other,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said during the day. Ms. Banerjee, however made no mention of Sandeshkhali
Sandeshkhali has been on the boil since the first week of February after allegations of sexual assault on women and land grab against Trinamool Congress leaders came to the fore. Two local Trinamool leaders Shiboprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar have been arrested by the police. Mr. Shahjahan, who is alleged to be the mastermind behind the crimes, however, remains on the run more than 50 days after his supporters assaulted Enforcement Directorate officials on January 5.
