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CBI nabs 10 people in Sandeshkhali killings of BJP workers after 2019 Bengal polls
Mob of around 200 people attacked houses of three BJP workers on June 8, 2019 over an altercation regarding the installation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) flags in the Sandeshkhali area
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested 10 people in connection with the murder of three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali area during post-poll clashes after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“We have arrested 10 persons in connection with the murder of three people — Pradip Mondal, Sukanta Mondal and Debdas Mondal — on June 8, 2019, at Nazat in North 24 Parganas during post-poll violence. They were produced before the Barasat court on Wednesday. The accused were remanded to CBI custody for two days,” a CBI officer said.
Elections were held in April and May 2019, and the results were announced on May 23. The BJP had made deep inroads in the state, winning 18 out of the 42 seats.
A mob comprising around 200 people attacked the houses of the three BJP workers around 4:30 pm on June 8 over an altercation regarding the installation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) flags in the area.
Police said that Pradip and Sukanta were allegedly shot dead by TMC henchman Shahjahan Sheikh and his associate Firoz Kamal Gazi, while Debdas was assaulted and abducted.
Days later, Debdas’s skull and a bone were recovered from the banks of the Dansa River in Sandeshkhali. The remains were sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Hyderabad.
Shahjahan was arrested on February 29, 2024, more than a month after Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers were attacked on January 5, 2024, when they went to search the TMC strongman’s house at Nazat in connection with the multi-crore ration scam. Three ED officers were injured when a huge mob attacked them allegedly on Shahjahan’s orders. He is now in jail.
Those arrested on Tuesday include Kader Molla, a close associate of Shahjahan. “Even though the initial investigation was done by the local police, the matter was handed over to the state police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in August 2019. Later, the family moved the Calcutta high court alleging lacunae in the investigation,” Kali Charan Mondal, the petitioner’s counsel, said.
Justice Jay Sengupta of the Calcutta high court on June 30, 2025, ordered the CBI to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the three murders.
