CBI Receives Over 200 Complaints Against Suspended Trinamul Leader Sheikh Shahjahan

Kolkata Over 200 emails have been filed against Trinamul strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, who is suspended, his brother Alamgir, and his assistants Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Monday.

Last Thursday, the CBI made public the email address sandeshkhali@cbi.gov.in, where anybody may file complaints against Shahjahan and his colleagues. Shahjahan is now detained. Most of the accusations that were received by Sunday accused someone of stealing land, then of molesting.

A CBI investigation into the accusations of land grab, assault, and molestation in Sandeshkhali last week was ordered by the Calcutta High Court and is being overseen by the court. "In light of these allegations, cases will now be filed against Shahjahan and his associates. A top CBI official said, "The complainants' identities will be kept confidential."

To look into the allegations, a team of CBI officials from the economic offenses wing and special crime branch would soon be assembled. The crew will either work out of one of the CBI offices in Calcutta or establish a camp at Sandeshkhali.

Shahjahan was brought before a court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on Monday by the Enforcement Directorate. The agency informed the court that it had reasonable suspicions that, at least in Sandeshkhali, 294 gram panchayat members and 47 panchayat samiti members had been chosen as candidates for rural polls on Shahjahan's orders.

Shahjahan's attorneys said that Shahjahan's political influence was unrelated to the matter of suspected money laundering and that the accused lacked the authority to impose conditions on the central committee of a democratically elected party. Shahjahan was placed under 14 days of judicial detention by the court.

When an ED team allegedly assaulted a number of locals on January 5 morning as they approached to search Shahjahan's residence, Sandeshkhali made national news. Sticks and bamboo poles were used to assault three ED officers, injuring them as well as a few central forces soldiers and media. Shahjahan disappeared.

After Hazra and Sardar were taken into custody by the police and accused of gang rape, a little more than a month later, Sandeshkhali erupted, with men and women marching to the streets to demand the arrest of Shahjahan. Many villages said that in March and April of 2022, their farmland was taken and, at Shahjahan's orders, turned into bheris for commercial pisciculture. The state administration established police camps to hear complaints from the locals as a result of growing public and political pressure; Shahjahan's arrest on February 29 brought the initiative to an end.