'DGP said can't arrest Shah Jahan': NCW chief's claim on Sandeshkhali case

National Commission for Women (NCW) chairman Rekha Sharma claimed that the DGP asked her how he can arrest Shah Jahan when there is nothing against him

National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma alleged on Tuesday that the West Bengal director general of police (DGP) said that he could not arrest local Trinamool Congress (TMC) politician Sheikh Shah Jahan because "there is nothing against him".

"It is huge that the DGP met me. I have come to West Bengal for the 8th-9th time, and the DGP never meets. The DGP agreed that the police were lacking. We suggested that all the police officials there [in Sandeshkhali] should be changed," Sharma said, after meeting state top cop Rajeev Kumar.

However, the women's panel chief said that Kumar's attitude changed just after a couple of phone calls. "He cut short the meeting. When we took Shah Jahan's name, he did not like it. He [DGP] asked us how he can arrest Shah Jahan when there is nothing against him. He said that the Enforcement Directorate [ED] should arrest Shah Jahan, not him. If there is nothing against him, then what will the police investigate," she said.

"I think DGP's hands are tied, he cannot do anything. We can imagine the pressure he is in. I think he is serious but how can he work under pressure," Sharma added.

Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district, has become the latest battleground between the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and Bharatiya Janata Party (BPJ) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Several women have accused Sheikh Shah Jahan and his supporters of sexually assaulting women in their TMC office at gunpoint.

The NCW chief had visited Sandeshkhali on Monday and met the victims. Following the visit, Sharma had called for the resignation of Mamata Banerjee and called for the imposition of President's Rule in the state.

Shah Jahan, also known as 'Bhai', is on the run after his supporters attacked a team of ED officials who had gone to Sandeshkhali to search his premises in connection with the ration scam.

Having started out as a union leader in a brick kiln, Sheikh Shah Jahan had started his political career with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and later joined the TMC after it came to power in West Bengal.