Sheikh Shahjahan has been missing since the attack on ED.
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday allowed Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Subhendu Adhikari to visit the crisis-hit Sandeshkhali village but expressed surprise that the main accused Shahjahan Shaikh has not been arrested by the state police yet. Chief Justice T.S. A bench headed by Shivagananam on Tuesday refused to interfere with the order of a single judge bench which had allowed Adhikari and another BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh to visit Sandeshkhali, a panchayati village in Sandeshkhali Block 2 of North 24 Parganas district.
‘The fact is that Sheikh has not been caught’
Protests are taking place in the Sandeshkhali area, located on the banks of the river on the border of the Sundarbans, about 100 km from Kolkata, over allegations of sexual assault on women and land grabbing by some leaders of the ruling party Trinamool Congress. The bench said, ‘It is very surprising that the person who is being said to be the root cause of this problem has still not been caught and is on the run after breaking the law.’ The bench said that the court does not know whether he enjoys protection or not, the fact is that he has not been caught.
The court had taken suo motu cognizance on 12 February
“It could mean that the state police machinery does not have the means to arrest him or (he) is beyond the jurisdiction of the state police,” the court said while hearing the state government’s appeal challenging the single bench order. Is outside. The single bench had also banned the administration from imposing Section 144 in some areas of Sandeshkhali till further orders. A bench headed by Chief Justice Shivagananam said a single bench of Justice Apoorva Sinha Roy had on February 12 taken suo motu cognizance of the allegations of sexual assault and forceful snatching of tribal land at gunpoint.
ED team was attacked in Sheikh’s premises
The bench had said the court can take judicial cognizance of the fact that the problem arose after the ED searched the premises of North 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad chief TMC leader Shahjahan Shaikh in Sandeshkhali on January 5. It said that the police have not been able to arrest Shahjahan even though many cases have been registered against him. He is accused of attacking ED officials during the search operation. The court said that setting up a camp by the state government on the allegations of forcibly snatching the land of the villagers in Sandeshkhali shows that land grabbing has been done in the area.
Calcutta High Court has expressed surprise over the non-arrest of Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan.
‘Nothing will happen just by imposing section 144 of IPC’
The Chief Justice said, ‘Prima facie the allegations are established that land owned by tribal villagers has been forcibly taken away in violation of legal formalities.’ The bench, noting that the administration was unnecessarily creating a tense situation, said mere imposition of Section 144 of the IPC despite being unable to arrest Shahjahan would have no impact. The bench directed that notice be issued to the Advocate General representing the State and the Additional Solicitor General representing the Union of India be informed so that the lawyers of ED and CBI remain absent on the date fixed for hearing of the case i.e. next Monday.
Justice Kaushik Chanda had put a stay on Section 144
The West Bengal government had filed an appeal before the bench challenging the order given on Monday by Justice Kaushik Chanda, who had stayed Section 144 imposed by the administration in Sandeshkhali till further orders. The bench also comprising Justice Hiranmoy Bhattacharya directed the BJP leader to ensure that no supporters or persons associated with the party accompany him except the security personnel deployed for him. The bench directed the Basirhat Superintendent of Police and the West Bengal government to comply with the orders issued by the single bench.
Justice Chanda had given these instructions to the state government
Justice Chanda on Monday had directed the state government to deploy adequate number of security personnel to ensure that no untoward incident takes place during the officer’s visit to the village in Sandeshkhali Block 2 in North 24 Parganas district. He also directed the Basirhat Superintendent of Police to file a report before the court on the next date of hearing regarding the number of criminal cases related to rape and sexual assault registered in the jurisdiction of Sandeshkhali police station from February 1, 2024 till now. Had given. (Language)
Latest India News