Kolkata, Jan 6 (IANS) Bengal police have arrested Musa Molla, the main accused in the attack on cops in Sandeshkhali area in North 24 Parganas district last week. He was arrested on Tuesday from the Nazat police station area.

He is known in the area as a Trinamool Congress worker. With Musa’s arrest, a total of 13 people have now been arrested in connection with this incident, said police.

It was learnt that Musa was accused of illegally occupying land. Based on this allegation, the court imposed Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on the land, prohibiting any construction work there. It is alleged that, defying this order, Musa started building a wall on the land last Friday night.

Upon receiving the information, police from the Rajbari outpost went to the spot. Later, they also went to Musa’s house in Boyarmari area and asked him to come to the police station. It is alleged that Musa then called his followers, who attacked the policemen. Four police officers were injured in the incident while one police vehicle was vandalised.

Tension spread in the area following the incident. Soon the police launched a crackdown, arresting several people on charges of involvement in the incident. Nine people were arrested on Saturday, and three more were arrested on Sunday. Among these three was Musa’s grandfather, Mortaza Molla.

However, the main accused, Musa, had remained at large since the incident. Finally, the police managed to arrest him. “Musa will be produced before the Basirhat sub-divisional court on Tuesday. We will seek his police custody for further investigation into the incident,” said a senior officer of Basirhat Police District.

On last Friday night, a state police team was attacked in the same area where the Enforcement Directorate (ED) came under attack two years ago.

It may be recalled that on January 5 in 2024, an ED team went to Agarhati area under Sandeshkhali block I in Basirhat area of same district 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 attacked the ED team which had opened a can of worms in Sandeshkhali.

In February, the area saw widespread protests as villagers accused Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides of land grabbing and sexually harassing women. Sheikh, who was on the run for 55 days after his supporters attacked the ED team was arrested on February 29, 2024.

–IANS

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