The Calcutta High Court has said that there is no order for the Bengal Police to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan, the main accused in the allegations of sexual harassment and land grab, from Sandeshkhali.

The court said, “We make it clear that there is no bar on arrest in any proceedings. There is only a First Information Report and he (Shahjahan) has been named as an accused. He is absconding. Apparently he “Needs to be arrested.”

The court’s clarification came after Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee claimed that the Bengal government was unable to arrest Shahjahan as the court had “tied the hands of the police”.

In comments criticized by the opposition BJP as “contempt of court”, Mr Banerjee slammed the high court for delaying the Sandeshkhali investigation by staying its order to form an SIT to probe the January 5 attack on the Enforcement Directorate team. Convicted.

The court was told today that till December last year, 43 FIRs were registered, of which charge sheets were filed in 42. “Seven cases have been registered in connection with land grabbing of members of the tribal community,” the court was told.

To this the court said sternly, “It is surprising that no arrests have been made in four years.”

On Sunday, Mr Banerjee said, “…those demanding Shahjahan’s arrest should take an appointment and ask the court why this was stopped. Was it to ensure that the Bharatiya Janata Party benefited from this incident?” Could?” And stressed that Trinamool is not saving its current powerful leader.

“If the High Court joins hands with the state administration (then) what can be done? After the January 5 incident – when it was claimed that ED officials were attacked – the central agency filed a complaint and the High Court filed a State police and central agencies ordered formation of SIT.”

Mr Banerjee further said, “About 10-12 days later, the ED appealed to the High Court for a stay. The petition was accepted. It means they did not want any investigation, arrest, summons or interrogation.”

“If the High Court ties the hands of the state police, how can they arrest anyone?” he asked again, pointing to the arrest of Trinamool leaders Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra. “I want to put it on record…Trinamool is not protecting Shahjahan. It is the judiciary. Lift the ban and see what the police do next…” Mr Banerjee said.

The court had fixed the next hearing in this case on March 6.

Mr Banerjee also said authorities should be given “at least a month” to make arrests, and referred to the alleged Saradha chit fund scam, in which the ED’s inquiry began in 2013. He claimed a “dual policy” and claimed the state police force never gets such leeway in its investigations.

Critics of the ruling Trinamool have refuted Mr Banerjee’s arguments, pointing out that the court has not stayed the investigation process, or the arrest of any individuals, including Sheikh Shahjahan.

Mr Banerjee’s comments – which came after Bengal Police arrested party leader Ajit Maiti on charges of grabbing land from villagers – were termed contempt of court by opposition leaders.

Read | Trinamool leader Ajit Maiti arrested in Sandeshkhali land grabbing case

BJP’s Samik Bhattacharya said, “He is not from the government. He is speaking on behalf of his party. He is the shining gem of Trinamool Congress. Trinamool cannot remove Shahjahan.”

Meanwhile, Mr Banerjee’s attacks did not stop at targeting the ED and the Calcutta High Court. He also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will hold three rallies in Bengal in early March; This will be a few days before the Election Commission announces the dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Citing the arrests of Partha Chatterjee and Jyotipriya Mallick by the ED in July 2022 and October 2023 on money laundering and corruption charges, Mr Banerjee declared that her party had not “spared” her, unlike the BJP, which has sometimes Former rivals included. “He was branded a thief”.

“This is ModiYesguarantee of. All thieves and corrupt people can join BJP and wash away their sins…”

It is noteworthy that the Trinamool leader also took a dig at other opposition leaders including CPIM, which is a member of the India Bloc and is considered an ally of his party.

“What were the opposition leaders doing? Till 2016, there was a CPIM MLA in Sandeshkhali. Why did he not press charges? Suvendu Adhikari (who was seen as a close aide of Ms Banerjee before joining the BJP) was with Shahjahan. There are pictures. Why did he do this? ‘Will he not say anything after leaving Trinamool?’

Mr Banerjee also promised to visit Sandeshkhali after the Trinamool rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on March 10. “I think it is not wise to visit an unstable region at this time,” he said.

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