Kolkata: A key witness in a case against suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and local strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, was injured and his son and driver were killed when a truck hit their car on Basanti highway near Boyermari in North 24 Parganas while they were on their way to court on Wednesday morning, people aware of the developments said.
The witness, Bholanath Ghosh was initially rushed to a rural hospital in Minakhan and later shifted to a private hospital in Kolkata . His younger son Satyajit Ghosh and the driver Sahanur Mollah were killed. The driver of the truck is absconding.
“ A case has been registered. Investigation is going on,” said an officer of Nazat police station.
Ghosh is a key witness in the case in which officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were attacked by a mob when they went to search Shahjahan’s house on January 5, 2024. At least three ED officials were injured and their vehicles damaged in the attack.
In February 2024 protests erupted in Sandeshkhali with villagers, mostly women, demanding the arrest of Shahjahan and his aides over allegations of land grabbing and sexual assault . The Calcutta high court later ordered a CBI probe and the TMC leader along with his aides Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar were arrested. Shahjahan is now in jail.
“We were going to the court. I was sitting behind and my son was sitting in the front next to the driver. As we approached Boyermari, a truck coming from the opposite direction, suddenly came towards us and hit us head on. Our vehicle fell into a roadside ditch. I was rescued in an unconscious state by locals. I feel that it is planned. The administration will be able to tell,” Ghosh told reporters at the rural hospital.
{{/usCountry}}“We were going to the court. I was sitting behind and my son was sitting in the front next to the driver. As we approached Boyermari, a truck coming from the opposite direction, suddenly came towards us and hit us head on. Our vehicle fell into a roadside ditch. I was rescued in an unconscious state by locals. I feel that it is planned. The administration will be able to tell,” Ghosh told reporters at the rural hospital.
{{/usCountry}}The accident took place around 9 am on Basanti highway near Boyermari.
Ghosh’s elder son Biswajit Ghosh alleged that it was not an accident .
“My father is a witness in the case in which Shahjahan is an accused. They were going to court . Two leaders of the Nazat panchayat did this on the orders of Shahjahan Sheikh. I came to know that the truck was waiting for the car on the highway. It is not an accident. It is murder,” Biswajit Ghosh told media persons.
Shahjahan was close aide of former minister Jyotipriyo Mallick, who was also arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the public distribution system in the state. Mallick was released on bail earlier this year.
The case against Shahjahan, in which Ghosh is a witness, is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.