As Sheikh Shahjahan gets arrested, read how Mamata Banerjee and West Bengal police tried their best to deny his crimes

The police in West Bengal have finally ‘found’ the absconding TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and arrested him, after weeks of protests by the local women and unsuccessful attempts by the ED team.

ANI reported that the West Bengal Police arrested Sheikh Shahjahan from the Minakhan area in North 24 Parganas. The SDPO said that the TMC leader would be taken to Basirhat Court at 2 PM today (Thursday, 29th February).

The arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan has come after weeks of protests by the local women who have been voicing their outrage against the institutionalised sexual exploitation, rape, property encroachment, and corruption they have suffered at the hands of the influential TMC leader and his goons.

Interestingly, the West Bengal police have clarified that Sheikh Shahjahan has not been arrested for the sexual exploitation of women in the Sandeshkhali area. They have stated that the arrest is for the attack on ED team on January 5 and the complaints of sexual exploitation and rape are “old cases” that would need time to investigate.

The incompetency of the Bengal government machinery and the state police was so stark in the case that on 20th February, the Calcutta High Court slammed the Mamata Banerjee-led-West Bengal government for failing to arrest ‘absconding’ Sheikh Shahjahan, responsible for the violence and unrest in Sandeshkhali village. During the hearing, the court observed, “He (Sheikh Shahjahan) cannot be encouraged by State dispensation. There is a prima facie material to show he has done damage…”

“This person cannot be on the run. There will be law and order problems. He is a public representative. He cannot be defying the law. Let’s see whether he can appear before the Court,” it noted.

The BJP has been claiming that Sheikh Shahjahan has been under the protection of the state government machinery and the Mamata Banerjee government is not only helping him, but actively involved in preventing his arrest and protecting him from the ED.