PDS scam: ED assault village deserted; Sheikh Shahjahan’s aides absconding or mum

An unofficial 'bandh' seemed to be observed in the area since early morning with shops and markets largely staying closed as police teams stood guard at Friday’s flashpoints and teams patrolled deserted roads

A deserted road at Sandeshkhali’s Sarberia in North 24-Parganas on Saturday.: Pashupati Das

Subhasish Chaudhuri, TT, Calcutta, 07.01.24 : Twenty-four hours after the mob attack on Enforcement Directorate officials during a raid in connection with the PDS scam on Sheikh Shahjahan’s residence at Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas, large parts of the Trinamul strongman’s village Sarberia and adjacent Dhamakhali wore a deserted look on Saturday.

An unofficial “bandh” seemed to be observed in the area since early morning with shops and markets largely staying closed as police teams stood guard at Friday’s flashpoints and teams patrolled deserted roads.

Police teams conducted raids at various pockets to track suspects involved in Friday’s violence. However, most men in Sarberia and Dhamakhali had fled their homes.

Trinamul preferred to lay low on Saturday. There was no formal protest by the party in Shahjahan's bastion.

Some brick kiln labourers, known to be Trinamul supporters and close aides of Shahjahan, demonstrated near Sarberia market against the ED raid that they alleged was a “BJP conspiracy” to implicate their leader. Some party workers claimed a protest would be staged if any fresh attempt was made by central agencies to enter any of Shahjahan’s houses.

“It (Friday's) was a spontaneous protest as the people suspected that the ED team could plant money and documents at Shahjahan’s house to implicate him. We just tried to prevent an attempt to break open his home by the ED team,” a Trinamul worker said.

All four residential buildings of Shahjahan and his family at Sarberia’s Akunjipara were found locked from outside on Saturday.

“We saw no movement in the vicinity except for police vans at regular intervals,” a local source said.

Some close aides of Shahjahan did not allow journalists to venture near the houses.

Most local Trinamul leaders were absconding. Those who could be traced refused to speak about Friday’s violence or persons involved in it. “We are waiting for Bhai (Shahjahan)’s instructions,” one of them said.

Mobile phones of many Trinamul leaders or sympathisers known to be close to Shahjahan were found switched off.

Mithu Sardar, a senior Trinamul leader and a Karmadhakshya of Sandeshkhali-I panchayat samiti said: “Friday’s protest was spontaneous by people who love Shahjahan. There was no formal instruction for a protest.”

She also refused to admit that Trinamul had given any “bandh call” a day after the violence on Friday or had any role to play in the village and its surroundings being deserted.

“Our party has condemned the ED’s conspiracy and right now we have no plan to stage any protest. People will give the BJP a befitting reply in the coming days in the elections. Their move to implicate Shahjahan won’t succeed,” she said.

Traders in Sarbera, however, claimed they "were told" to shut their shops for at least 12 hours on Saturday.

“Everything here runs on the directive of one person (Shahjahan)... we were told to keep our shops closed and we are bound to obey,” a trader in Sarberia market said.

Local BJP leader Krishnendu Mukherjee said that everyone “fears one person in Sandeshkhali, who has the blessings of our chief minister”.

“He runs a gang of goons which killed three of our party workers before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Their bodies were untraced. Shahjahan was an accused in the FIR, but police eventually dropped his name from the chargesheet,” Mukherjee said.

Local CPM leader Biswajit Bose virtually echoed Mukherjee and said: “Sandeshkhali has become a haven of criminals under Shahjahan, who enjoys the blessings of the chief minister.”