Sheikh Shahjahan Arrested, Sandeshkhali Women Share Sweets

Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, main accused in Sandeshkhali case, has been arrested, police said. The leader and his associates have been accused of sexual atrocities on women and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali.

Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested around midnight in the North 24 Parganas district by a special Bengal police team. He had been on the run for 55 days. He has now been sent to 10-day police custody.

The team had been monitoring the leader's activities for several days leading up to the arrest, officials said. He was produced in court in Basirhat at around 10:30 today and has been sent to police custody for 10 days. He has been taken to Kolkata.

Senior police officer Supratim Sarkar said that the Trinamool leader has been arrested in a case of assault on Enforcement Directorate officers during a raid on January 5.

The arrest comes three days after the Calcutta High Court pulled up the state police for the delay in taking action against the Trinamool leader and stated that "he should be arrested".

Following the arrest, the protesting women in Sandeshkhali, who have been demanding action against Shahjahan, celebrated the arrest by sharing sweets.

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A large number of women in Sandeshkhali had accused Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of land-grab and sexual assault under coercion. The riverine area has been embroiled in a series of protests for more than a month, demanding the arrest of Sheikh and his accomplices.