Absconding Trinamool leader arrested in Chennai for attacking Bengal businessman
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress leader and deputy head of Bishpur Panchayat in Hingalganj in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, Shahidul Sheikh, who was absconding in a criminal case involving a businessman, was arrested in Chennai, police said on Sunday.
Sheikh was accused of being involved in the incident of attacking a local businessman and setting his shop on fire. The police said that Sheikh, who had been absconding since the incident, was finally arrested in Chennai on Saturday night.
According to a senior police officer of the Basirhat Police District, the Trinamool leader will be brought to Hasnabad on Sunday evening. The police will produce him in the Basirhat Sub-division Court on Monday. They will likely seek the accused’s custody from the court.
According to the police, on May 18, Trinamool leader Sheikh and his team were accused of beating up Nitai Das, a businessman from Bailani Bazar in Hingalganj. Allegedly, Nitai’s shop was burnt down that night. As a result, Das suffered a loss of several lakhs of rupees. After investigating the incident, the Hasnabad police station started searching for Sheikh.
Not only this incident, but a case was also filed earlier against him at the police station on multiple charges, including embezzling money from the panchayat, extorting money in the name of providing houses under the Awas Yojana, bombing and issuing threats.
The police had been searching for him after the latest case was filed. After receiving information from a source, officers from Hasnabad police station went to Chennai. They arrested Sheikh in a joint operation with the Special Operation Group (SOG).
“The phone’s tower location was tracked. Finally, the police came to know that he was hiding in Chennai. After that, a team from Hasnabad police station left for Chennai to arrest him. He was arrested on Saturday night. The arrested person will be produced before a court in Chennai today, Sunday, to seek his transit remand. After that, he will be brought to Hasnabad police station. The police are investigating his role in the incident. A search is on for others who were also involved in the incident,” said the police officer.