Sandeshkhali Case: Suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan, accused of violence and sexual harassment against women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, broke down after meeting his daughter following a court hearing in Basirhat city. He is also accused in the case of an attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team in North 24 Parganas.
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According to reports, Shahjahan was presented in court by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Basirhat, West Bengal, on Tuesday. After the hearing, Shahjahan broke down in tears after meeting his daughter. In the viral video, Shahjahan can be seen sitting inside a police van and wiping his tears after a brief interaction with his daughter.
'Swag has disappeared'
After the video of Shahjahan crying went viral on social media, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya took a swipe at the former TMC leader. Referring to him as a "poster boy" of Mamata Banerjee, Malviya remarked that Shahjahan's confidence seemed to have diminished.
"The swag has disappeared. Mamata Banerjee’s poster boy - rapist Sheikh Shahjahan is weeping like an inconsolable child. Criminal Anubroto Mondal is in jail. This is the fate that awaits the likes of Saokat Mollah, Jehangir Khan and others, who have unleashed a reign of terror across Bengal. No one will come to save them when law catches up. Not Mamata Banerjee for sure. She couldn’t even save her ministers. The clock is ticking," teh BJP leader said in an X post.
Accused in attack on ED team
Sheikh, along with his aides Shiba Prasad Hazra, Uttam Sardar and others, were accused of sexual abuse and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali. After being on the run for 55 days, Sheikh was nabbed on February 29 in the Minakhan area, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali on the outskirts of Sunderbans.
Sheikh is an accused in two cases lodged at Nazat Police Station in connection with an assault on Enforcement Directorate officers on January 5 during a raid at his house in a ration scam case.
A team of ED officials was attacked by a nearly 1,000-strong mob on January 5 when they went to raid the house of Sheikh, who allegedly has close links with arrested former state food minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, in connection with the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal.
Sheikh, who is also the prime accused in alleged sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing at Sandeshkhali, was arrested by the state police on February 29 in the ED officials attack case.
Also Read: Enforcement Directorate arrests three associates of suspended TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh
Also Read: ED arrests Sandeshkhali-accused Sheikh Shahjahan in land-grabbing case