Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday said that TMC is not shielding Shahjahan Sheikh, who is accused of “sexual abuse and land grab” by villagers in Sandeshkhali.
He also claimed that a few outsiders were fomenting trouble and creating disturbances in the region ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“The TMC is not shielding Shahjahan Sheikh. We have a zero-tolerance policy against anyone committing any crime,” Banerjee said at a programme.
Hitting out at the BJP, the senior TMC leader said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) could not catch him and claimed that "the hands of the state police are tied" by the court as the SIT got a stay order against the FIR of the West Bengal police.
"The state government has filed a case against Sheikh Shahjahan. ED could not catch him. But the SIT went and got a stay order against the FIR of the state police. As a result, the hands and feet of the police have been tied by the court," Abhishek Banerjee said.
Abhishek Banerjee was referring to the Calcutta High Court order earlier this month where it stayed a single bench order for forming a joint special investigation team (SIT) comprising CBI and West Bengal Police officers to investigate the January 5 attack on ED officials in Sandeshkhali.
The TMC leader further said that if the Bengal Police can arrest absconding West Bengal businessman Sudipta Sen and former Bengal ministers Partha Chatterjee and Jyoti Priya Mallick, then why can't they arrest Shahjahan Sheikh?
"Sudipta Sen was arrested from Kashmir by the West Bengal police. The TMC has also taken action against Partha Chatterjee and Jyotipriya Mallick. Then why can’t we not arrest Shahjahan?" Abhishek Banerjee questioned.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said that the fact-finding team visiting states are the BJP cadres who are controlled by the BJP.
"Where was this so-called fact-finding team in UP, MP, Gujarat, Assam, and Manipur. These are the BJP cadres who are controlled by BJP. They are coming here only to malign the TMC government. BJP does not trust the people of Bengal nor have any relations with them. They know the people of Bengal don't support them. This is why they are using different central agencies, and it only proves they have no organisation in Bengal," TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said.
A TMC delegation visited the trouble-torn Sandeshkhali in West Bengal for the second day on Sunday and heard the grievances of villagers who have been protesting against the alleged atrocities by Sheikh Shahjahan, who is absconding, and his supporters.
The delegation, comprising state ministers Partha Bhowmick and Sujit Bose, visited Bermajur area, which witnessed violent protests recently, and sought one-and-half month from locals to address their grievances.
The state ministers also urged villagers in restive Sandeshkhali to come up with their demands. Bhowmick and Bose participated in a 'kirtan' at a Radha Krishna temple and addressed a gathering in Sandeshkhali.
"Give us one-and-half month. We have promised that all the land grab incidents, which had been reported, will be verified. We cannot solve all the problems in one go. To address the issues, there are official procedures that need time to be completed," Bhowmik, the state irrigation minister, said.