TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan has his roots in Bangladesh. A video going viral on social media shows Padma Shri awardee Dr Narayan Chakraborty, renowned for his pioneering work in arsenic toxicity, particularly in West Bengal, confirming that Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan’s school leaving certificate is from Bangladesh.
In the video shared by journalist Abhijit Mujumdar on X today (March 12, Tuesday), Dr Narayan Chakraborty confirmed that Sheikh Shahjahan was a student leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Union in his college days. He added, “How and when he infiltrated India and acquired Indian citizenship is a matter that the National Investigation Agency should probe.”
Sheikh Shahjahan’s school leaving certificate is from Bangladesh, he was a BNP student leader, says Padma Shri Narayan Chakraborty. #Sandeshkhali pic.twitter.com/rArRYBpMhD
— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) March 12, 2024
Political parties, the professor added, typically back goons such as Sheikh Shahjahan for two main reasons. First, to influence votes, that is, either by obtaining votes while forbidding citizens from casting ballots or by obtaining votes while completely eliminating voting. Secondly, to make sure that they have a constant supply of unlimited funds.
The political party involved, he continued, thought that all they were doing was to oppose other political opponents. They were unable to comprehend when they turned from being anti-opposition to anti-national. They couldn’t understand that they were getting ensnared and that their own ministers would never be able to escape this web.
TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan is currently in CBI’s custody. The prime accused in the case related to the attack on ED officials in Sandheshkhali, he was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the state police on the orders of the Calcutta High Court. The CBI has booked the ‘suspended’ Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader for ‘attempt to murder.’
Besides, the TMC leader is accused of a host of offences ranging from money laundering, sexual assault and land grabbing by the villagers of Sandeshkhali.
Locals stated that the TMC goon, a close aide of CM Mamata Banerjee, usurped the land of the poor villagers. Shocking revelations of rape, sexual harassment, and threats of gang rape came to light through witness and victim testimonies too.
What’s more, is that the role of the police was exposed through these testimonies wherein aggrieved women narrated how the state force under the TMC government was in cahoots with Shahjahan and his goons.
Amidst all this, Shahjahan was in hiding with much convenience. The TMC leader was absconding ever since the mob attack on ED.
From Truck driver to ‘Betaj Badshah’ of Bangladesh border areas: Who is TMC’s Sheikh Shahjahan
Popularly referred to as ‘Betaj Badshah’, TMC’s Sheikh Shahjahan is an influential person in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, an area that is adjacent to the Bangladesh border.
Despite coming from an incredibly poor family and having no political background, the 53-year-old TMC leader’s name is now a force to be reckoned with in Sandeshkhali. Shahjahan started off doing odd jobs to make ends meet. He worked as a truck driver, a conductor, sold vegetables etc, but along with all this, he continued to maintain contacts with influential people of Sandeshkhali.
He started as CPI(M) leader Moslem Sheikh’s right-hand man, collecting money for him. He subsequently started to dabble in local fishing and real estate. In 2004, Sheikh entered politics as a union leader in brick kilns in Sandeshkhali. He then joined the Left regime in 2006.
Shahjahan continued to bat for the Left when the state underwent a regime transition in 2011. However, he joined the Trinamool Congress in 2013 and rose to prominence quickly, under the mentorship of West Bengal Minister Jyoti Priya Mallick and the then-TMC national general secretary Mukul Roy.
Shahjahan gradually grew very close to Mallick and since then his ascent through the ranks of authority has been relentless.
It is believed that the TMC leader has played a significant role in the political party in power by aiding in the rigging of the Sandeshkhali area elections.
Additionally, his name has always kept coming up whenever the ruling TMC has clashed with the BJP party in the state.
In fact, in June 2019, violent clashes erupted in Sandeshkhali post the Lok Sabha elections where TMC goons had clashed with BJP workers in the area. The clash led to the death of three BJP workers including Pradip and Sukanta Mandal. Shahjahan was named as an accused in the FIR filed in connection with the murder of these two BJP workers but he had escaped any sort of police action.
Locals said that Shahjahan has been involved in various illegal activities since 2006 but he has always surrounded himself with powerful people as a defensive tactic in case he gets charged with any wrongdoing. This is purportedly the reason why he got away in the BJP workers Pradip and Sukanta Mandal’s murder case.
