Sandeshkhali unrest: TMC to suspend Sheikh Shahjahan from party for six years

The TMC has decided to suspend Sheikh Shahjahan from the party for six years, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien announced on Thursday according to news agency ANI. Shajahan Sheikh is accused of sexual abuse and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali. He was arrested in the early hours of Thursday after being on the run for 55 days that witnessed violent protests led by local women and a fierce political slugfest. 

Sheikh was arrested from a house in Bamanpukur in Minakhan police station area, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali on the outskirts of Sunderbans, in North 24 Parganas district.

Sheikh was hiding in the house along with a few associates, the police said. After the arrest, he was taken to the Basirhat court, which sent him to 10 days in police custody. Sheikh, who has been at the centre of a massive political firestorm, was taken into custody within 24 hours of the Calcutta High Court stating that the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the West Bengal Police can arrest him.

Police said Sheikh was arrested in two cases lodged at the Nazat police station in connection with an assault on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on January 5 during a raid at his house in a ration scam case. 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).

Sheikh was traced with the help of his mobile phone's tower location, a police officer said. "Shiekh was changing his location from time to time. He was spotted with the help of his mobile phone's tower location," he said.

Additional police forces were deployed in parts of Sandeshkhali, which Sheikh is accused of turning into his fiefdom over the last decade, to prevent any further flare-up of the situation. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were also clamped in 49 areas on the island.

On Wednesday, a division bench presided by Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam directed that it will be "open to the CBI or the ED also to arrest" the absconding Sheikh, noting that he has been on the run for a substantial period. The high court had on Monday directed the state police to arrest him.

Police said that over 100 complaints were registered against Sheikh over the last few weeks, which saw violent protests led by women demanding his arrest. Several cases, including that of 376D (gang rape), have been filed against Sheikh and his associates based on these complaints. His close aides Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar were earlier arrested on similar charges. His another associate, Ajit Maiti, was held in connection with the allegations of land grabbing.

Most of the complainants claimed that Sheikh forcibly took over land from the people, and tortured the women of the area. He was at large since a mob of around 1,000 people attacked the ED team on January 5.

(With inputs from PTI)