Sandeshkhali: Shajahan Sheikh will be arrested soon, says TMC

New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) Trinamool Congress leaders on Monday said the West Bengal government was acting against Sandeshkhali accused Shajahan Sheikh and he would be arrested very soon.

Briefing the media here, TMC leader Sagarika Ghose also accused the BJP of politicising the issue and trying to obstruct the work of a "law-abiding government".

She also lashed out at the National Commission of Women and accused it of acting at the behest of the Union government by demanding that the President's rule be imposed in West Bengal, while it never made such a demand in the case of Manipur.

"The TMC has been very clear, now that the court has clarified there is no bar on arresting the main accused Shajahan Sheikh, police and government will act and his arrest will happen very soon," Ghose said.

"The allegations that he was being shielded by the Bengal government, and it was not acting because of concerns about religion, are completely unfounded. Key aides (of Sheikh) are already in jail. The only reason why the main accused has not been arrested so far is because of the Calcutta High Court order," Ghose added.

Sheikh, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman, has been accused of sexual atrocities and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal.

Ghose, a TMC candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, said a "religious colour" was being imparted to the issue which is "completely wrong".

"The West Bengal government is there in Sandeshkhali, camps are being set up, a 10-member team is collecting evidence, and land is being returned where the claim is being established," she said.

"The attempt to destabilise a law-abiding government, a delivery-oriented one, is wrong. Why is the BJP trying to destabilise the government which is acting? Look at what happened to women wrestlers... where is Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh? He remains at large. What about Lakhimpur Kheri where the Supreme Court had to intervene and ask why action is not being taken against Ajay Teni's son" she said.

"What have they done, in which states they have delivered justice for women while they cast aspersions on others," she added.

Ghose said the NCW was "playing a politically biased role" which was dangerous for democracy.

"What did the NCW do in Manipur? It went there after 40 days. Did it call for the President's rule in Manipur? But in Bengal, where the government is on the ground, they want President's rule," she said.

TMC leader Sushmit Dev, meanwhile, claimed that the West Bengal Police could not arrest Sheikh earlier as an order by the Calcutta High Court barred the state police from investigating the allegations.

"I want to strongly point out that the Calcutta High Court order says categorically that West Bengal Police will not investigate the FIR they have registered. Arrest happens only after investigation. If the court says you can't even investigate how do you expect West Bengal Police to make an arrest," she said.

"Today after Abhishek Banerjee pointed out the lacuna, the HC has clarified no bar on arresting the accused person. Law and order is a state subject. Whatever has happened or not happened in Sandeshkhali, the state has to resolve it. The PM cannot come and resolve the law and order of a state," she said.

The Calcutta High Court on Monday directed the police to arrest Sheikh, while clarifying there is no stay on it. The court said it is surprising to note that the incidents of atrocities in Sandeshkhali were reported to the state police four years ago.

The court also directed that Sheikh, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, the district superintendent of police and the state's home secretary representing the West Bengal government be impleaded as parties in the suo motu matter initiated on the allegations of sexual atrocities on women and land grab of tribal people. PTI