On 5 January 2024, a team of

Enforcement Directorate The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement and economic intelligence agency of the Government of India. Established on 1 May 1956, it is responsible for enforcing economic laws and combating financial crimes. The ED operates under th ...

officers visited the village of Sandeshkhali in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, to interrogate a local

Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (; AITC), simply known as Trinamool Congress, is an Indian political party that is mainly influential in the Federated state, state of West Bengal. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee on 1 January 1998 as a Lis ...

leader, Sheikh Shahjahan, about his involvement with the corruption scandal of the politician

Jyotipriya Mallick Jyotipriya Mallick is an Indian politician and former Minister for Department of Forest Affairs and Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy Sources in the Government of West Bengal. He previously served as the Minister for Food & Supplies in the ...

. Mallick, a former minister with the Trinamool Congress, pled guilty for embezzling multiple crores from food rationing funds in October 2023, implicating Shahjahan. In January 2024, the ED investigated additional allegations of sexual assault and improper

land acquisition Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land surface ...

against Shahjahan. In the resulting altercation, three ED officers were injured by local supporters of Shahjahan. Immediately after the incident, Shahjahan fled, remaining a fugitive for 55 days until his apprehension on 29 February. He was suspended by the Trinamool Congress immediately after his arrest.

Background

On 5 January 2024, a group of ED officers went to interrogate Sheikh Shahjahan, a TMC district council member from Sarberia village of Sandeshkhali I CD block in

North 24 Parganas district North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and ...

in connection with the ration smuggling case in which senior minister in

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

was arrested in October 2023. Immediately after the raid, the ED officers were assaulted and attacked by the local villagers, along with destroying their phones, important files by the local supporters of Sheikh Shahjahan. The vehicles of the mediapersons which were present there, were also vandalized and they were beaten badly. Following that incident, on 11 January 2024, ED officers filed a petition for the protection of them in

Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located at Esplanade Row West, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. T ...

for which the protection was granted by the court. The court also ordered for an interim stay on the FIRs which were filed by police against ED officials on the day of the raid and violence. On 12 January 2024, two arrested in connection with the attack on the ED team by

West Bengal Police The West Bengal Police () is the primary law enforcement agency for the Indian state of West Bengal, excluding the metropolitan area of Kolkata, which has its own separate police force. It is responsible for maintaining public order, preventing ...

. On 25 January 2024, ED again with full force of

CISF The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. CISF's primary mission is to provide security to large institutions, be it state or privately-owned. It was set up unde ...

went to Sandeshkhali to his residence for raid and they broke the doors and entered the house, but were able to find nothing. Following the attack incident, the local villagers alleged that Sheikh Shahjahan was like a gangster of Sandeshkhali, who used to threaten the people with his two aides, TMC leaders Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar and the mob. Allegations of systemic sexual assault on many women of Sandeshkhali surfaced in mainstream media during early February 2024. They also claimed that both Shibu and Uttam raped the women of the villages by calling them to their offices at ungodly hours and now police is denying to register FIRs. On 17 February 2024, Shibu Hazra was arrested by the police. He was sent to 8 days of police custody by the court. Soon after the news broke, several protests took place across the state by several opposition parties including the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

and the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

. An inquiry was also launched on the allegations and several arrest were made. On 29 February 2024, at around 5:30 am (IST), Shahjahan was arrested by the police from Minakhan, 30 km from Sandeshkhali by them.

Reactions

Following the incident, BJP leader and the leader of opposition in

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paścimabaṅga Vidhānasabhā'') is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of West Bengal, located in eastern India. It consists of 294 members directly elected from single-seat ...

, Suvendu Adhikari condemned the attack on the ED in Sandeshkhali. He also alleged that

is helping Shahjahan to run away. However, TMC spokesperson

Kunal Ghosh Kunal Ghosh (born 20 June 1968) is an Indian politician. He is a member of the Trinamool Congress and a former MP, representing West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha. Journalism Ghosh worked for Channel 10, as well as several newspapers. Ghosh ho ...

denied of such actions and said that Shahjahan is available in Sandeshkhali and did not flown to anywhere. On the other hand,

CPI(M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electoral seats, and one of the six national parties of India. ...

leader Mohammed Selim has also alleged that police had already talked with Shahjahan for his protection, that's why they are not taking any action against him. LoP Suvendu Adhikari when tried to visit Sandeshkhali with their MLAs, the police stopped and returned them to

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

in the prison van. On the same day, Adhikari filed a petition in the High Court to get the nod for visiting Sandeshkhali, for which he got the permission from the court. On 15 February 2024,

Chief Minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

alleged that BJP and

RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many ...

are using both CBI and ED to create unnecessary violence to win over West Bengal in the upcoming Lok Sabha election in 2024. On 14 February 2024, BJP State President and MP Dr. Sukanta Majumdar was detained by the police, during their sit-on protest in front of SP Office in

Basirhat Basirhat is a city and a municipal urban region of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Basirhat subdivision. Established on April 1, 1869, Basirhat is one of the oldest municipal board ...

. According to ANI, Senior BJP leader and MP Dilip Ghosh alleged that Mamata Banerjee is involved in protecting such criminals like Shahjahan Sheikh.

References

{{reflist Political history of West Bengal Sandeshkhali violence 2020s in West Bengal Corruption in India Corruption in West Bengal Controversies in India Violence against women in India Riots and civil disorder in India Political riots in India Riots and civil disorder in West Bengal Violence in India