In a recent development from West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, Shahjahan Sheikh, the prime suspect in the Sandeshkhali case, has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody. The order was issued by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court following allegations of ration fraud, money laundering, land grabbing, sexual exploitation of women, and orchestrating an attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team.
Shahjahan Sheikh was arrested by the ED on March 30 after previously being in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The special PMLA Court judge, Prashant Mukhopadhyay, approved the judicial remand at the request of ED’s lawyer, Abhijeet Bhadra. According to the ED, Sheikh is accused of using aquaculture as a front to launder money obtained from usurping land from villagers.
This arrest follows a violent incident on January 5, where approximately a thousand people, allegedly instigated by Sheikh, attacked an ED team. The team was conducting a search at Sheikh’s premises in Sarberia village of Sandeshkhali in connection to a ration distribution scam. Following a directive from the Calcutta High Court, the CBI is investigating the assault case. Under intense pressure, Sheikh was initially detained by the West Bengal Police before being handed over to the CBI as per the court’s order.
