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The Calcutta high court on Monday paved the way for the arrest of controversial Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan, brushing aside claims by the state government that there was a stay on apprehending the strongman who is accused, along with some aides, of land grab, exploitation and sexual violence.

The court’s comments came a day after senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee told a public rally that the judiciary had tied the hands of the West Bengal Police in arresting the man whose presence has kept the village of Sandeshkhali on the boil. Hours after the high court’s remarks, the TMC said that Shahjahan, who has been absconding since January 5, will be arrested in seven days.
“Which is that order? How can there be a restraint order asking police not to arrest him? We clarify it right now that there is no order restraining the state police from apprehending,” said a bench led by Calcutta high court chief justice TS Sivagnanam.
The bench said that there was no record in any cases relating to incidents at Sandeshkhali that there was a stay on Shahjahan’s arrest. “Therefore, the said person shall be arrested by the concerned police authorities,” the court directed.
“We will abide by court orders,” said a senior IPS officer requesting anonymity.
The court also raised questions about the police investigation, noting that it was surprising that the police took four years to file charge sheets in 43 first information reports (FIRs) involving Shahjahan.
“Four years is too long a period. The issue has been boiling for quite some time and ultimately it has burst,” said the court.
Hours later, the TMC said that Shahjahan would be arrested within a week. “We thank the Calcutta high court for allowing the police to arrest Shahjahan. He will be arrested within a week,” Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson, said.
The court’s directions mark an important turn in the fractious case that the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party wants to use as a referendum on the TMC government’s grip on law-and-order in the state. A number of national panels — including the National Commission of Women, the National Commission of Scheduled Castes, and the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes — have visited the area and later said that they documented serious allegations against Shahjahan and his associates.
The island village of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district has been in the eye of the storm since January 5, when officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrived to search the home of Shahjahan, a close aide of former minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, who was arrested in October 2023in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam. The ED team came under attack from an angry mob, leaving three officers injured.
But, on February 7, other violent protests began erupting in Sandeshkhali and other nearby villages, with groups of residents led mostly by local women, alleging sexual harassment at the hands of local TMC leaders including Shahjahan, his brother Sirajuddin, and other associates Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.
The police have arrested Uttam Sardar, Shibaprasad Hazra and Ajit Maity. Maity was heckled by villagers. But Shahjahan remains absconding.
The state government has repeatedly accused the Opposition of politicising the event. On February 15, chief minister Mamata Banerjee assured justice will be served but attacked the BJP and alleged: “The target was Sheikh Shahjahan. ED first entered the area targeting him. After ousting everyone they created a rift between the local tribal and minority population.”
On Sunday evening, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the Calcutta high court had tied the hands of the police.
“The judiciary is guarding Sheikh Shahjahan. The TMC government will not spare anyone if the allegations are genuine but the Calcutta high court has tied the hands of the police,” Banerjee said in his Lok Sabha constituency of Diamond Harbour.
On Monday morning, Calcutta high court advocate Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee, who was appointed as the amicus curiae in the case, told the two-member bench that a wrong message was going out.
“The court had granted a stay on the constitution of a special investigation team alone. Stay on constitution is different from stay on arrest. Police have registered FIR against him under various sections of IPC and he has been branded as an accused. Obviously, he needs to be arrested,” the bench said.
The developments came on a day villagers in Sandeshkhali ransacked the house of TMC panchayat member Shankar Sardar and set fire to a hay stack kept in the house of Haladhar Ari, another TMC leader. Family members of both Ari and Sardar alleged that they were being framed and it was a conspiracy of the BJP.
In the court hearing, the state also threw light on the extent of the alleged crime.
“At least 43 FIRs related to sexual assault under section 376 of IPC have been lodged by police in Sandeshkhali in the last four years. Police have submitted charge sheet in 42 cases while investigation is going on in one case,” Kishore Datta, state advocate general, told the court.
But the court was not impressed and questioned why it took so much time to file charge sheets.
In Sandeshkhali, police arrested local TMC leader Ajit Maity, who was chased by villagers on Sunday. He was removed from his post of zonal chief by the TMC after allegations of irregularities and land grabbing surfaced against him on Sunday. Ari and Sardar were appointed the joint conveners.
The BJP welcomed the court’s directions and attacked the TMC.
“It is shameful that the TMC tried to use a direction of the Calcutta high court as a shield to cover up its own wrong doings. Never did the court gave any stay on Shahjahan’s arrest, which TMC leaders have bene claiming. Now that the clarification has come, those not related to the administration are saying that Shahjahan will be arrested. Is this expected from a democratically elected government?” said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP spokesperson.
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