Arrest TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan: Calcutta HC

The Calcutta High Court on Monday clarified there is no stay on arrest of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan who has been accused of sexual atrocities and land grab in Sandeshkhali The court directed that Sheikh the Enforcement Directorate the CBI and the state home secretary be impleaded as parties in the suo motu matter initiated on the allegations of sexual atrocities on women and the land grab of tribal peopleA division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed that a public notice be given in newspapers by the high court registry stating that Sheikh has been impleaded in the matter as he is on the run and not seen in public since a mob attack on ED officials on January 5On a prayer by courtappointed amicus curiae for clarification on whether there is a restraining order on police from arresting Sheikh the division bench said there is no such stay and the police can arrest himTMC leader Sheikh ShahjahanThe court said that in a different matter it had only stayed the constitution of a joint special investigation team of the CBI and the state police which had been ordered by a single bench to investigate the attack on ED officials The division bench including Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya directed that the matter will come up for hearing again on March 4 The police arrested TMC leader Ajit Maiti on the charges of land grabbing from villagers an officer said After getting over 70 complaints the police lodged an FIR against Shahjahan ShiekhSheikh to be arrested in seven days TMCSenior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on Monday said party strongman Shahjahan Sheikh who has been accused of sexual atrocities and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal will be arrested in seven days The TMC leaderrsquos assertion comes immediately after the Calcutta High Court clarified that there is no stay on the arrest of Shiekh Shahjahan in the caseHouses of local TMC leaders ransackedFresh protests erupted in parts of troubletorn Sandeshkhali on Monday as locals ransacked properties of local TMC leaders accused of tormenting villagers in the region police said Armed with sticks they attacked a few houses in Bermajur area of Sandeshkhali venting their fury against local TMC panchayat leader Shankar Sardar Shankar an accused of land grabbing was not at home but his family members were beaten up by villagers ldquoThe police for years did nothing That is why we are doing everything to get back our landrdquo a protester saidBeyond any Indianrsquos comprehension SmritiWhat happened in Sandeshkhali is beyond the comprehension of any Indian Union minister Smriti Irani said on Monday and questioned the Congressrsquo silence on alleged sexual abuse of women by TMC supporters in the village Congress people want to go there and talk but the ldquoshehzadardquo who is still lost in the maze of politics has not said a word on this matter the Women and Child Development minister said in an apparent reference to senior party leader Rahul GandhiLocals have been protesting for a month against land grabbing and sexually abuse of local womenThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever