Page 11 - All India Trinamool Congress

TMC urges EC to ensure central agencies do not impede electoral process

The Trinamool Congress on Monday urged the Election Commission to ensure that central agencies must not impede the electoral process. The TMC delegation also appealed to the commission to make sure that "central forces are not pressurised by the BJP". Terming BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari as a "habitual offender", the TMC asked EC members to "keep a close watch" on him. The party demanded that Lok Sabha polls to the 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal be conducted in a single day and not in phases. The party delegation, which met the full bench of EC here, said that the commission should accept 11 voter IDs on the polling day. The EC bench led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, which is in the state, held meetings with representatives of political parties during the day. The EC team will also hold parleys with district magistrates, superintendents of police and other officials of the state government, an official said. It will also meet Chief Electoral Officer

BJP unable to leverage Sandeshkhali protests

Anti-incumbency against TMC and Mamata Banerjee cannot be discounted. In the end, it all depends on whether she is able to address the deeper structural problems in her party

Sandeshkhali case: Eye on 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP sees an opening

TMC firefights the allegations of land grab, forced conversion of land, and sexual exploitation with the arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan

West Bengal highlights: Arrested TMC leader Shahjahan suspended from party

LIVE news updates: Catch the latest updates on TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh's arrest in Sandeshkhali

Trinamool Congress suspends Sandeshkhali accused Sheikh Shahjahan for 6 yrs

Shahjahan was apprehended after being on the run for 55 days amidst violent protests in the region led by the local women

Sandeshkhali unrest: Shajhahan arrested, sent to 10-day custody by court

Absconding TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh, the main accused of sexual abuse and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali, was arrested in the early hours of Thursday after being on the run for 55 days that witnessed violent protests led by local women and a fierce political slugfest. Additional Director-General of Police (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar said Sheikh was arrested from a house in Bamanpukur in Minakhan police station area, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali on the outskirts of Sunderbans, in North 24 Parganas district. Sheikh was hiding in the house along with a few associates, police said. After the arrest, he was taken to the Basirhat court, which sent him to 10 days in police custody. Sheikh, who has been at the centre of a massive political firestorm, came out of the lock-up around 10.40 am dressed in white kurta-pajama, and walked to the courtroom with policemen behind him. He also made a gesture with his hand at the media contingent waiting there. After the ..

Who is Shajahan Sheikh, arrested TMC leader at centre of Sandeshkhali storm

TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh was arrested this morning by the West Bengal police from a house in North 24 Parganas's Minakhah on Thursday morning

Criminals calling shots in parts of Bengal, this has to end: Guv Bose

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday welcomed the arrest of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh in Sandeshkhali case and asserted that the time has come to put criminals, who are ruling the roost in parts of Bengal, behind bars. Absconding TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh was arrested on the early hours of Thursday from a house in Minakhan, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali. "This is the beginning of an end. We have to put an end to the cycle of violence in Bengal. In parts of Bengal, the goons are ruling the roost. This must end and the gangsters should be put behind bars", the governor said at a press conference here. Bose maintained that the Sandeshkhali incident is only the tip of an iceberg, suggesting there is much more to it than what meets the eye.

Bengal police arrested Shajahan after court cleared the decks, says TMC

The ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday hailed the arrest of absconding party leader Shajahan Sheikh, accused of torturing villagers in trouble-torn Sandeshkhali area, and said it was possible only after the court cleared the decks and accused the opposition of exploiting the earlier "embargo" on his arrest. The BJP dubbed the arrest as scripted and claimed he was in the safe custody of West Bengal Police. Sheikh, accused of alleged sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali, was arrested on Thursday morning, police said. He was arrested from a house at Minakhah in North 24 Parganas district where he was hiding, they said. "Due to a legal tangle, he couldn't be arrested initially. However, after the court clarified that there was no stay on his arrest, the West Bengal Police did its job. The opposition had earlier exploited the embargo on his arrest," TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told PTI. The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday directed that Sheikh

Sandeshkhali incident: TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh arrested from Bengal

He was arrested from a house in Minakhah in North 24 Parganas district where he was hiding, they said

Sheikh Shahjahan will be arrested very soon: Sagarika Ghose on Sandeshkhali

Sagarika Ghose, while speaking to ANI, said that the government is acting in this matter and will continue to do so

TMC depriving poor of central schemes for sake of politics: FM Sitharaman

The politics of denying these benefits to the people of Bengal is a disservice done to them, the finance minister added

Sandeshkhali unrest: Cal HC says no restraint on arrest of Shajahan Sheikh

The Calcutta High Court on Monday clarified there is no stay on arrest of Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shajahan, who has been accused of sexual atrocities and land grab in Sandeshkhali. The court directed that Sheikh, the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI, the state home secretary be impleaded as parties in the suo motu matter initiated on the allegations of sexual atrocities on women and land grab of tribal people. A 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 5. On a prayer by court-appointed amicus curiae for a 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 him. The court said that in a different matter, it had only stayed the ...

What will police do if HC ties their hands?: Abhishek on Sandeshkhali issue

Two Trinamool leaders, Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra, who are close to Shahjahan, have already been arrested in the incident

Why aren't women MPs allowed to meet Sandeshkhali victims: BJP leader

Senior BJP leader Vanathi Srinivasan on Saturday wondered if the TMC government in West Bengal is transparent, why are women MPs prevented from meeting victims in Sandeshkhali. The Mahila Morcha national president criticised the state government over allegations of sexual abuse against women in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district and alleged that "women are not safe at all" under the TMC rule. "Women are not at all safe in West Bengal. If the TMC government is so transparent, why are opposition women MPs prevented from meeting the victims in Sandeshkhali? What are they trying to hide?" she told reporters here. Reacting to allegations that the BJP maintained stoic silence when similar allegations of "atrocities" were levelled in states ruled by the saffron party, she said the party has never shielded anyone involved in such heinous crimes. "The BJP has never shielded anyone whenever such incidents have happened in any state ruled by the party... we have zero tolerance (toward

Sandeshkhali row: ED files fresh case against TMC's Shahjahan Sheikh

Multiple teams of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at locations linked to TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh

ED raids residences of absconding TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh's associates

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted raids at residences of businessmen associated with absconding Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh in connection with an old case of fraudulent land grab, a senior officer said. Raids and search operations were started by the ED early Friday morning at five different places in and around the city including Howrah, Bijoygarh and Birati, he said. "These raids are in connection with an old case of fraudulent land grab against Shajahan Sheikh and his associates. These people were involved in fish businesses with Shajahan. We are looking for a few specific documents", the officer said. The ECIR is generally filed by the ED as the case Information report. It is similar to a First Information Report (FIR) in criminal cases, he explained. On January 5, a team of ED officers were assaulted by a mob when they tried to enter the residence of Shajahan at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Three officers were inj

PM will address rally in Barasat on March 6: Bengal BJP chief Majumdar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address a women's rally in Barasat in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on March 6, state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said on Thursday. Majumdar said if the tortured women of Sandeshkhali express their willingness to meet the PM, the party will facilitate a meeting. "Today, we came to know that the prime minister will be visiting the state on March 6 and will address a women's rally at Barasat," Majumdar told reporters. Asked whether the PM will meet the women from Sandeshkhali, which is also located in North 24 Parganas, Majumdar said, "If the sisters and mothers of Sandeshkhali want to meet Modi, we will definitely arrange it." A large number of women in Sandeshkhali have accused Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of "land-grab and sexually assaulting" them under coercion. Shajahan has been absconding after a mob, allegedly affiliated with him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who had gone

Sandeshkhali violence: NCSC delegation submits report to Prez Murmu

A delegation of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) which visited West Bengal's Sandeshkhali to probe alleged harassment of women by TMC supporters has submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu, officials said on Friday. A large number of women in Sandeshkhali have claimed that TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters captured swathes of land by force and also sexually harassed them. They are demanding the immediate arrest of Sheikh, who has been absconding since an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team that raided his house in connection with an alleged ration scam was attacked by a mob last month. The NCSC delegation visited Sandeshkhali on Thursday and submitted its report to the President after returning to Delhi, the officials said.

Sandeshkhali violence case: PIL filed in SC seeks court-monitored probe

A PIL was filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali village. The plea filed by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava also seeks compensation for victims of the Sandeshkhali violence and action against officials of the West Bengal Police for alleged dereliction of duty. The plea also seeks transfer of the probe and subsequent trial outside West Bengal. Besides it seeks an inquiry by a three-judge committee as done in the Manipur violence case. Sandeshkhali, a village in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, has been witnessing protests over allegations of sexual abuse of women by a local TMC leader. Several women in the region have accused the local Trinamool Congress strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grab and sexually assaulting them under coercion. Shajahan has been absconding after a mob, allegedly affiliated to him, attacked Enforcement Directorate officials who has gone to search his ..