Trinamul Leader Sheikh Shahjahan Arrested by ED in Land Grab Money Laundering Case

Sheikh Shahajan, the strongman of Trinamul, was suspended by the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday night in relation to a money laundering case involving land parcels that were "grabbed" from Sandeshkhali farmers and turned into commercial fish ponds.

Shahjahan has been arrested three times and is now being held in the Basirhat prison. He was earlier taken into custody by the CBI and Bengal police.

Equipped with authorization from a Basirhat court, Shahjahan was taken into custody by ED detectives on Saturday night after a three-hour-plus interrogation.

According to an ED source, "he was arrested on Saturday at around 5 p.m. in a money laundering case."

BJP leaders said that Shahjahan's most recent arrest will reveal Trinamul's deeper participation in land-grab crimes.

The ED's arrest of Shahjahan would deal a serious blow to Trinamul. Leaders of the Trinamul Congress took a significant portion of impoverished farmers' land via force. The BJP's Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya said, "Many politicians in both the North and South 24-Parganas districts are accused of land-grab and altering the nature of the land. It's not only Shahjahan.

"The state administration has stepped forward to restore plots to original owners, proving that the property had been stolen. Additionally serving as the top spokesman for the BJP in Bengal, Bhattacharya said, "We believe that this arrest would again expose Trinamul wrongdoings."

According to a source, Shahjahan was the target of at least 15 land-grab complaints from Sandeshkhali villagers. He was initially detained by state police last month in relation to the attack on the ED team on January 5 when they went to raid his home because they suspected him of being involved in a PDS (public distribution system) scam. Later, the CBI detained the suspended Trinamul leader in accordance with a Calcutta High Court ruling.

In an application filed in the Basirhat court on Saturday morning, the ED requested authorization to question Shahjahan over land-grab allegations related to the money-laundering case. The central investigation agency was permitted to question him in custody any day between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. by the Basirhat court.

Following the court's approval, an ED team entered the prison and began questioning Shahjahan.

According to a source, the ED planned to present the Trinamul leader before the Basirhat court on Sunday, requesting detention so that the leader could be questioned about the money trail related to the PMLA case that was filed on February 21. According to a source, Shahjahan and his assistants stole money from the fish ponds, known locally as bheris, and the ED wanted to know how.

On February 7, the people of the isolated island, particularly the women, took to the streets to protest Shahjahan and a few other local Trinamul officials, accusing them of rape, torture, and land-grabs. This is when Sandeshkhali first made news.

While BJP leaders have so far used the subject of women's atrocities as a wedge against Trinamul, many party insiders had expected that when the ED pursues its probe into the money laundering issues, the extent of corruption by the current regime will become evident.

"We think many more local Trinamul leaders will be arrested in this connection," said a senior of the BJP.

When contacted, Trinamul spokesman Kunal Ghosh said that the matter was still being looked into and that he would not comment.