Almost every district in Bengal has its own Shahjahan Sheikhs, who help the TMC win elections.
The attack on a team of Enforcement Directorate officials and their CRPF escorts on Friday morning in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal has brought into focus a shadowy breed of second-rung leaders who play a crucial role in establishing the hegemony of the Trinamool Congress over large parts of the state. Over the years, the Trinamool Congress has increasingly relied upon these leaders to keep a tight leash on the populace, especially in rural Bengal. They are, in veteran journalist Suman Chattopadhyay’s words, Didi’s Gestapo.
Retired police officials say most of these leaders began their journey as stormtroopers and henchmen of CPM leaders in the last decade of Left rule in West Bengal. With the ascent of Mamata Banerjee in 2011, these leaders crossed over to the Trinamool Congress and soon established themselves as the go-to guys for the senior leaders of the party.
Trinamool Congress insiders say that former party general secretary Mukul Roy and the then rising Mamata confidant Jyotipriya Mallick were instrumental in inducting a large number of such people into the party in North 24-Parganas district which borders Bangladesh and is a hub of illegal activities like cattle and coal smuggling, and illegal infiltration.
Shahjahan Sheikh, also known as Sheikh Shahjahan, whose name has risen to national infamy after his supporters attacked a posse of ED officials and CRPF escorts and journalists on Friday, was one such leader.
Jyotipriya Mallick, former Food Supplies Minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, continues as the State Forest Minister, despite being in ED custody for his alleged involvement in a ration distribution scam which, sleuths claim, may be to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore or more. ED sources say Shahjahan Sheikh was one of the cogs in Jyotipriya Mallick’s scam machine.
Shahjahan Sheikh’s empire spans from Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas to Malancha in South 24-Parganas and covers bheris (fish breeding ponds) and brick kilns. He wields complete control over transport and vegetable syndicates in the area, say police sources. And a substantial portion of the money he makes from extortion goes towards charity, giving him a Robin Hood image.
Trinamool Congress veterans say the 53-year-old party strongman is perhaps their most popular and feared functionary in this part of Bengal, with some claiming he enjoys more popularity than the local MLA and MP.
He stepped into politics in 2003, following in the footsteps of his uncle Moslem Sheikh, who contested elections on a CPM ticket and became the panchayat pradhan.
“Shahjahan quit his driver’s job. He started controlling local bheris and dealing in vested land. Soon, he grew into a prominent figure in North 24 Parganas. He, along with his uncle, had such a strong hold on the area that even when the Left lost back-to-back elections from 2009, they continued to remain in office in his part of North 24-Parganas,” said a Trinamool functionary in the district.
During that time, he gained popularity among villagers as he employed hundreds of youths in his syndicates, bought them mobiles and bikes and also bailed out poor families during their daughters’ weddings and funerals of elderly relatives.
Suvendu Adhikari, BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, told The Sunday Guardian: “Among those who orchestrated and executed the cowardly attack on the ED officials, CRPF jawans and journalists are the two brothers of Shahjahan, Alamgir and Sirajuddin along with Jiauddin; who is alleged to be an arms smuggler and presently the Pradhan of Sarberia-Agarhati Gram Panchayat. Due to Mamata Banerjee’s assurance and encouragement, criminals like Shahjahan have assembled Rohingyas to work as his henchmen and establish a reign of terror.”
Over the years, Shahjahan got married, had four children and increased his business. Currently, he is the karmadhyakshya of fisheries and animal husbandry department of North 24 Parganas zilla parishad and is also the Trinamool block president in Sandeshkhali. Even in the last panchayat poll, he had played a key role in the party’s win. He was also the party convenor in the 2021 elections for Sandeshkhali.
Police sources say he has several cases against him, ranging from extortion, assault to murder, but he somehow managed to dodge prosecution and even went underground at times. He allegedly ran an illegal cross-border trade and would often cross over to Bangladesh to escape cops, police said.
In the aftermath of the violent clashes between BJP and TMC workers in Sandeshkhali in June 2019, post the Lok Sabha elections, resulting in deaths on both sides, Sheikh found himself implicated in a murder FIR filed in connection with the incident.
Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s IT cell and a Prabhari for West Bengal, says: “Sheikh Shahjahan is no ordinary politician. In 2019, he and his men, most of them illegal Rohingyas from Bangladesh, killed BJP workers Sukanta Mandal and Pradip Mandal… Their bodies were riddled with bullets using sophisticated firearms, and chopped into several pieces. Shahjahan had then escaped across the border, while Mamata Banerjee’s police remained a mute spectator.”
Senior police sources say the then Director-General of Police, Surajit Kar Purakayastha wanted to have Shahjahan arrested in that particular case but was restrained by the Chief Minister. “Jyotipriya Mallick had already explained to Didi about how indispensable Shahjahan was to the party in the region”, they said.
State police intelligence sources say that almost every district in the state has its own Shahjahan Sheikhs, who help the Trinamool Congress win election after election with a combination of fear, muscle, and local popularity based on patronage of illegal activities. They also funnel funds from illegal activities up the party ladder and also benami properties and businesses for senior party leaders, say party sources.
In Diamond Harbour, where Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, heir apparent and Trinamool Congress’ all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is the MP, it is Jehangir. In Birbhum district, it is Kajal Sheikh who has come to the fore after district president Anubrata Mondol was nabbed by the ED and the CBI and has been lodged in Tihar Jail for more than one year. In Jibantala, it is Shawkat Mollah, and in Bhangar is Arabul Islam.
Police sources say that the Trinamool Congress depends on this kind of strong-arm leaders to win elections and in return, these leaders get the licence to do whatever they want with protection of the ruling party.
West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told The Sunday Guardian: “The ruling party in the state backs violence-mongers and hence, there’s no dearth of ‘Kaka Babu’, ‘Khoka Babu’, Shahjahan and ‘Noor Jahan’ in Bengal. If the BJP has courage, they should do something.”
“We want President’s Rule at least in the disturbed areas. But they have not done so. Perhaps some BJP functionaries and Didi have a connection and that is why it can’t be done,” Chowdhury alleged.