Kolkata:

Until a couple of months in the past, Sandeshkhali island in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district was only a dot on the map. However over the previous few months, this nondescript island has made nationwide headlines and emerged as a serious flashpoint between the Opposition and the ruling Trinamool Congress, because of the native strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.

On the face of it, there are allegations and counter-allegations between rival political events forward of the final election. However scratch the floor and what emerges is a baffling story of Shahjahan’s meteoric rise to energy and the way he managed to show this island into his fiefdom.

The Starting

Shahjahan’s journey to grow to be Sandeshkhali’s strongman started nicely earlier than the Trinamool Congress got here to energy. Not a lot is thought about his instructional background. In his nomination papers for the panchayat polls, the column of instructional {qualifications} was vacant. Native media experiences say that within the early 2000s, Shahjahan can be seen on the sidestep of vehicles taking part in between Sandeshkhali and neighbouring Sarberia, calling out to passengers and amassing fare from them. His maternal uncle, Moslem Sheikh, was a neighborhood CPM chief and the panchayat chief. Sheikh gave Shahjahan his first breakthrough, and the formidable nephew began taking care of the native fish commerce. He was no chief, but, and largely labored within the shadow of his uncle, serving to him out throughout elections and holding in contact with native occasion leaders.

His property, nevertheless, began rising and that didn’t go unnoticed. It’s round this time that Shahjahan began carving out his id. He helped out native residents throughout disaster. Whether or not it’s arranging funds for a marriage or serving to out dad and mom struggling to pay for his or her youngsters’s schooling, Shahjahan was the go-to man.

Round 2010, he sensed the wind of change blowing in opposition to the ruling CPM, even earlier than his uncle did. Native media experiences stated Shahjahan regularly began distancing himself from CPM because the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress gained floor forward of the 2011 polls. Shahjahan’s calculation proved proper when the 34-year rule of the Left ended and the Trinamool got here to energy.

In the meantime, Trinamool chief Jyotipriya Mallick, now in jail in a corruption case, was watching the formidable nephew. Mallick, native experiences stated, deliberate to deal a deadly blow to the CPM through the use of Shahjahan to counter his uncle Moslem Sheikh’s affect. In 2013, Sheikh Shahjahan joined the Trinamool Congress. The tide had turned and the nephew and trumped his uncle. A lot in order that Moslem Sheikh was pressured to hitch Trinamool a couple of years again.

A Mountain Of Wealth

Three palatial houses, colored white, blue and yellow, tower over Akunjipara Extra close to Sandeshkali. The blue and white houses are occupied by Shahjahan’s relations. The 50-year-old strongman lived within the yellow earlier than he fled forward of the Enforcement Directorate’s raid. Paperwork submitted for panchayat polls said Shahjahan owns 17 vehicles, 43 bighas of land — about 23 acres — and jewelry price over Rs 2 crore. His financial institution stability was practically Rs 2 crore. The strongman talked about his occupation as ‘enterprise’ and his annual revenue was proven as practically Rs 20 lakh.

Native residents, nevertheless, declare that his precise property is way more. However the place was the cash coming from? Native leaders say he owned two brick kilns and was repeatedly seen there. That was not all. Shahjahan’s aides collected a reduce from each fish dealer within the space. Firearms tucked into their belts, his males would go from one fish grower to a different, amassing the strongman’s “charge” each month, in accordance with native experiences. Such was his terror within the space that nobody dared to oppose.

Allegations of Land Seize

Over the previous decade, agricultural manufacturing in Sandeshkhali noticed a swift decline and fish cultivation an exponential development. Behind this was Sheikh Shahjahan. Native residents recount the strongman’s oft-repeated expression: nona jole sona fole (Gold grows in saline water). His methods to “develop gold”, nevertheless, have drawn severe allegations of land seize. A number of farmers have narrated to NDTV how Shahjahan took management of land. His males would break embankments to channel saline water into agricultural land. “They’ve inundated our land with saline water in order that we can’t develop crops right here. (Shahjahan’s aides) Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra did this. Now they’re rearing lobsters,” stated a neighborhood farmer.

One other farmer alleged that they’re being pressured to rear fish. “Why will we go into fish farming when we now have this land? We used to develop rice and stay off it. We grew crops and fed ourselves. Fish and rice sufficed. Now, every little thing has stopped. There is no such thing as a vegetable and there’s no crop. Our cows haven’t got something to eat as there isn’t any grass. What’s going to we do? We’re dying.”

Protest, the native farmers stated, would appeal to a hefty penalty. “We’re protesting now as a result of we can’t take it anymore. They decide us up and beat us. That is the state of affairs. We can’t sleep at night time,” stated a farmer who didn’t wish to be recognized.

The target was easy — flip land into fish farms and reap the income. Every bit of land, together with a footfall discipline named after him, was on Shahjahan’s radar as he went on constructing his fiefdom, native residents say.

The Extortion Community

Native residents allege that they’d get solely a small portion of the cash that got here into their accounts below welfare schemes of the Centre and the state authorities. This additionally utilized to funds for work below MGNREGA, the agricultural job assure scheme.

“We’d get perhaps Rs 500. They didn’t give us the remainder,” a neighborhood resident stated, concentrating on Shahjahan’s aides.

“Shahjahan’s males would decide us up from our residence. We’d be made to withdraw the cash and provides it to them. They might hand us Rs 500. ‘Take this, we can’t provide the relaxation’, they stated,” stated one other. A protest would invite a thrashing, they alleged.

One other group of males stated fee for constructing roads or digging ponds would even be snatched by Shahjahan and his males. “This street has been constructed, however we now have not been paid. Once we dug a pond, we didn’t get cash for it. Not a single rupee. If we stated something, they’d decide us up and beat us.”

The place Is Sheikh Shahjahan?

The Sandeshkhali strongman has been lacking since a crew of Enforcement Directorate officers got here below a mob assault once they went to raid his residence in Sandeshkhali in January. The latest allegations of harassment by ladies have raised a political storm and prompted the state police to crack down. Shahjahan’s aides Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar have been arrested, however he’s nonetheless on the run. State police chief Rajeev Kumar stated a 10-member committee is investigating the Sandeshkhali occasions.

“A complete of 17 arrests have been made,” he advised reporters Saturday.

The highest cop stated state police just isn’t attempting to cover something and appealed to villagers to come back ahead with their complaints. The police are additionally organising camps within the space to take complaints of land seize and extortion.

One girl has registered a criticism of rape. Basirhat police chief HM Rehman stated, “The complaints acquired by us from the police crew in Sandeshkhali in addition to the police station didn’t point out any circumstances of rape. Nonetheless, in court docket, one girl has lodged a criticism of rape. The police will take motion.”

The officer, nevertheless, stated they haven’t acquired any criticism particularly naming Shahjahan Sheikh. The principle Opposition BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress authorities of protecting the strongman and referred to as for strict motion.