Shahjahan Sheikh, the primary accused in the Sandeshkhali case of West Bengal, has been subjected to 14 days of judicial custody following arrests by the CBI and then the ED. Sheikh faces serious allegations including ration fraud, money laundering, land seizure, sexual exploitation, and orchestrating an assault on the ED team.
Arrested by the ED on March 30, Sheikh had been previously in CBI custody. A special PMLA court judge, presided by Prashant Mukhopadhyay, has now sent him to judicial custody following a plea by ED's lawyer Abhijeet Bhadra. ED charges Sheikh with laundering money obtained through illicit land acquisitions under the guise of fisheries.
On January 5, about a thousand individuals instigated by Shahjahan Sheikh attacked a team of ED officials. They had gone to Sandeshkhali's Sarberia village to search Sheikh's premises in connection with a ration distribution scam. Following a Kolkata High Court order, CBI is investigating the assault. Sheikh was arrested by the West Bengal police under intense pressure and was later handed over to the CBI by court order.
Notably, Sheikh is known as a powerful and influential TMC leader, previously chairing the TMC's Sandeshkhali unit. Sheikh came into the limelight on January 5, when, during an interrogation by the ED team about the Bengal Ration Distribution Scam, his henchmen assaulted the officials. Subsequently, ED continually issued summons to him.
The Sandeshkhali incident came to the forefront after local women accused Sheikh of land grabbing and his associates of sexual harassment. Following these allegations, left and BJP parties strongly protested against the Mamata government. Section 144 was imposed in Sandeshkhali to prevent opposition leaders from entering, yet BJP leaders raised the issue from Bengal to Delhi.
