Kolkata, May 20 (IANS) Two female leaders of the Trinamool Congress, who are closely associated with the arrested party’s strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, have been apprehended in Sandeshkhali, located in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, in relation to the violent assault on ED officials that occurred in 2024.

This action comes after the police stepped up the investigation in the Sandeshkhali case following a change of government in the state.

Among those arrested are Sandeshkhali-I Panchayat Samiti President and Basirhat Organisational District Trinamool President Sabita Roy, and another influential Trinamool leader, Mithu Sardar.

According to the police, the two leaders were behind the attack that took place in front of Shahjahan’s house in the Sarberia area of Sandeshkhali on January 5 in 2024. The police believe that there was a big conspiracy behind the attack on ED officers and Central forces jawans with sticks and sharp weapons.

Investigators claimed that the list of crimes of the arrested leaders is not limited to the attack on the ED only. One of them, Mithu Sardar, also has several serious allegations of post-poll violence in 2021. Her name had been involved in the past for atrocities on opposition political workers, vandalism of houses and creating terror in the area after the election results were announced.

Locals alleged that these two leaders had been exercising parallel power in the area under Shahjahan’s protection for a long time.

According to the police, the arrested will be presented in the Basirhat court, and an application will be made to take them into police custody. From the post-poll violence of 2021 to the attack on central agencies in 2024, the police sources claimed that these women played an active role in every case.

It may be recalled that on January 5, 2024, a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) went to the Agarhati area under Sandeshkhali block I in Basirhat to investigate a ration corruption case.

The operation was against Sheikh Shahjahan, the Executive Director of North 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad and a Trinamool strongman. The followers of Shahjahan had brutally attacked the ED team, causing serious injuries to them. In February 2024, the area saw widespread protests as villagers accused Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides of land grabbing and sexually harassing women. Shahjahan, who was on the run for 55 days after his supporters attacked the ED team, was arrested on February 29, 2024. The Ed team was probing his involvement in the ration scam and was on their way to conduct a search operation at his home when they were stopped and attacked.

–IANS

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