Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Naushad Siddiqui was detained by police in Kolkata on February 27 as he was preparing to visit Sandeshkhali. He was seen indulging in a heated conversation with the police official, questioning his detention.
“Why am I being stopped from visiting Sandeshkhali? What is the reason behind my detention? Is there any written order?…” said MLA Naushad Siddiqui. Earlier, in a blistering attack on the ruling TMC after it blamed legal processes for the delay in the arrest of absconding strongman and Sandeshkhali accused Sheikh Shahjahan, Congress state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on February 26, said laying the blame on the Calcutta High Court in the matter amounted to ‘contempt of court’.
“Women across West Bengal are out on the streets, crying for justice and fighting for the honour of fellow women in Sandeshkhali. Those in the TMC government should hang their heads in shame for failing to protect the women of Sandeshkhali. Laying the blaming on the High Court and the legal process (for the delay in the arrest of the accused Sheikh Shahjahan), instead, amounts to contempt of court. The government should be held in contempt for saying that the high court has tied the hands of the state police” Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
On February 26, The Calcutta High Court Chief Justice ordered to add Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan to the Sandeshkhali case. The HC Justice asked to issue a notice in the case and said, “There is no reason to not arrest him.”
Amid tensions over the Sandeshkhali incident, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on February 26 said that the Governor’s job is to see when the elected government takes action within the rule of law. If that is not done, then the governor will intervene.
Terming the decision by the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice on Sheikh Shahjahan, as momentous, the Governor added, that there is no excuse for not arresting Sheikh Shahjahan and he will be arrested.
Sandeshkhali has been tense for a few weeks as a section of women are seeking justice against alleged atrocities committed by TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides. A large number of women in Sandeshkhali had accused Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of “land-grab and sexual assault” under coercion. Shahjahan continues to evade arrest, with both state police and central agencies unable to trace him.
(with inputs from ANI)
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