'Is This An Arrest': BJP Questions Shahjahan Move, ED Suspects He Was In Touch With Bengal Cops

Following the arrest of Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan by the West Bengal police on Thursday, BJP senior leader Amit Malviya questioned the legitimacy of the arrest and accused the state police of shielding him from apprehension.

“Is this an arrest? WB Police is escorting Sheikh Shahjahan like they would escort CM Mamata Banerjee. All these days, Sheikh Shahjahan was under the protection of WB Police. As soon as Calcutta High Court allowed ED and CBI to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan, Mamata Banerjee’s police took control of him. They hurriedly took him to a local Court, to preclude ED and CBI lawyers from getting in. No wonder women of #Sandeshkhali have no faith in Mamata Banerjee.,” Malviya stated in a post on X.

The Enforcement Directorate also claimed that the Trinamool Congress leader, facing allegations of sexual atrocities and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali village, was ‘in touch with the West Bengal police’.

The Bengal minister was arrested on Thursday morning after being on the run for 55 days. Following his apprehension in the early hours from Minakhan, a court in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district remanded him to 10 days of police custody.

The state police, responsible for Shahjahan’s arrest, claimed that a Calcutta High Court order constrained their actions. However, the court later clarified that it did not prohibit the state police, Enforcement Directorate (ED), or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from taking him into custody. The court had directed the state police to arrest him on Monday.

In response, sources from the ED asserted that Shahjahan’s arrest suggests his affiliation with them. An ED officer raised questions about the delayed arrest despite Shahjahan being implicated in three murder cases, facing a non-bailable warrant related to an attack on power department officials, and accusations of sexual harassment and land grab.

An ED officer stated that Shahjahan was arrested right after the High Court issued a clarification. He added that this validates his connection with them, despite Sheikh Shahjahan being named in three murder cases and facing a non-bailable warrant related to an attack on power department officials, he had not been arrested until now.

The officer stated, “We had information that there was a huge cache of arms and cash worth crores at his home. That’s why the mob attack was engineered and Shahjahan was helped to flee. The role of Bengal police and government in hiding away the arms, cash and Shahjahan’s phones must be investigated.”

West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari also slammed state chief minister Mamata Banerjee for protecting Shahjahan, asserting that he had been assured by her government that nothing would happen to him.

“He has been assured by the Mamata govt that nothing will happen to you, you’ll be allowed to use the phone… This has happened (Sheikh Shahjahan’s arrest) because of the continuous pressure from the people, the court, the continuous effort of the media and the fight of the BJP and the mothers of Sandeshkhali… This is the voice of the ‘Devishakti’, the culprit must face harsh punishment, capital punishment should be given.” Adhikari stated.