Police make first arrest in mysterious death of Sandeshkhali witness’s son; family alleges faulty probe

Kolkata, Dec 13 The police on Saturday arrested one person in connection with the mysterious death of Satyajit Ghosh, the younger son of Bhola Ghosh, who is a key witness in a criminal case against suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan of Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

The accused, identified as Ruhul Kuddus Sheikh, was arrested by the Basirhat police early on Saturday morning and will be produced before a district court in North 24 Parganas later in the day. The public prosecutor will seek his police custody, a senior police official said.

However, Ruhul was not among the eight persons named in the written complaint filed earlier this week by Bhola Ghosh at the Nazat police station, which falls under the Basirhat district police limits. In the complaint, Ghosh alleged that eight individuals had conspired to stage the road accident, claiming that he was the intended target as a key witness against Shahjahan, once described locally as the terror of Sandeshkhali.

Satyajit Ghosh died on Wednesday after a truck rammed into the vehicle in which he was travelling along with his father Bhola Ghosh to the district court to record the latter’s statement against Shahjahan. Bhola had a narrow escape, while the driver of the vehicle, Shahnur Molla, also died in the accident.

Bhola Ghosh has claimed that the truck accident was aimed at him and not his son. “I was the target because I am one of the main witnesses against Shahjahan,” he said earlier.

Following the arrest of Ruhul, the Ghosh family alleged that the Basirhat police were not conducting a proper investigation. The family members claimed that all eight persons named in the complaint were close associates of the ruling Trinamool Congress.

The first two names mentioned in the written complaint are those of Sheikh Shahjahan and his wife, Taslima Bibi.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation recently submitted details of around 3,000 individual complaints registered against Shahjahan to the Calcutta High Court. Sources said the complaints primarily relate to the attack on Enforcement Directorate officials and accompanying Central Armed Police Force personnel outside Shahjahan’s residence in Sandeshkhali last year.

The ED team and CAPF personnel were allegedly attacked by Shahjahan’s associates following an attempted raid at his residence in connection with the agency’s probe into an alleged multi-crore public distribution system scam in the state.

Other complaints against Shahjahan include allegations of land grabbing in Sandeshkhali, illegal conversion of agricultural land into pisciculture farms by flooding fields with saline water, and the sexual exploitation of local women.

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