Sheikh Shahjahan in the Sandeshkhali case risks arrest and receives no respite from the Calcutta High Court

According to PTI, the Calcutta high court made it clear on Monday that Sheikh Shahjahan, the leader of the Trinamool Congress, who is charged with sexually assaulting women in Sandeshkhali, West Bengal, cannot have his arrest stayed.

Shahjahan, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the West Bengal Home Secretary were ordered to be pleaded as parties in the suo motu case by the high court.

Since the assault on January 5 by ED agents who had gone to the area to inspect his property in connection with the ration fraud, Shahjahan has been evading capture.

Since February 8, when hundreds of women brandishing sticks, agricultural implements, and brooms demanded the arrest of Shahjahan and his two assistants, Shibprasad Hazara and Uttam Sardar, the hamlet in the North 24 Parganas district has been engulfed in turmoil. The TMC leader is on the run, but his aides have been taken into custody.

Strongman Shajahan Sheikh of the Trinamool Congress and his allies have been accused by several women in Sandeshkhali of “land-grab and sexual assault” under duress. The opposition BJP is criticizing the Mamata Banerjee administration, claiming it is supporting Shahjahan.

Mamata’s nephew: “High court tied hands of police”

Abhishek Banerjee, the general secretary of the TMC, refuted accusations on Sunday that he was shielding Shahjahan, saying the police had their hands “tied.”

Every day, the champions and guardians of human rights cry out, “Arrest him, arrest him. What will the police do if the High Court has its hands tied? He was reported by ANI as stating, “ED officials were assaulted on January 5, and the Calcutta High Court constituted a SIT in the incident.”

“The ED filed an appeal and requested a stay of the decision. That motion was granted by the Chief Justice’s bench. There will be a hearing on March 6. If the state police administration’s hands are tied by the High Court, how will the police make an arrest? Banerjee, the nephew of state minister Mamata Banerjee, suggested that the police be allowed a month or fifteen days to respond on the complaint.