West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday welcomed the arrest of TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, calling it “light at the end of the tunnel”. Sheikh Shahjahan, an accused in a sexual violence and land grab case in Sandeshkhali village in North 24 Paraganas district, was arrested in the morning from the Bamanpukur area at Minakhan in connection with the attack on ED officials last month.
The arrest comes after the governor had given a 72-hour "deadline" to the state government.
“I told you there will be light at the end of the tunnel. That is democracy. This is a lesson for everyone. Now, let's hope a new dawn of lawfulness will come back to Bengal. I am glad that good things are happening,” Bose told reporters.
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Shahjahan was taken to the Basirhat court and will be produced before it later in the day.
Supratim Sarkar, ADG South Bengal, said, “He was arrested in connection with the case related to attack on ED officials on January 5. He was one of the principal accused in the case. Several other cases have been lodged against him after protests broke out in Sandeshkhali earlier this month. Those are being investigated.”
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{{/usCountry}}While the ruling TMC, facing the heat over Sandeshkhali unrest, claimed credit for Shahjahan's arrest, the opposition BJP dubbed it scripted.
“What is the TMC govt and Police gloating about...Shahjahan has been arrested only as a cosmetic measure, it is nothing but eyewash. It only happened when BJP took up the issue of Sandeshkhali, was on the streets and even courts were forced and constrained to come down heavily on the TMC government and on the action of police,” BJP's national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.
".TMC knew where he was and gave him protection. In the Assembly Mamata Banerjee defended him, outside Abhishek Banerjee defended him," he said.