Making a dig at the TMC government and West Bengal Police over the arrest of absconding strongman and Sandeshkhali accused Sheikh Shahjahan, and, his 10-day remand, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Thursday said he has been put under the 'mehman-nawazi' (hospitality) of the state police in a bid to avoid arrest by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the CBI.
Close to two months after he was reported untraceable in the wake of the attack on an ED team, which was on its way to raid his residence in the North 24 Parganas in connection with the alleged ration scam, the TMC strongman, who is also alleged by the women of Sandeshkhali to have perpetrated grave atrocities along with his henchmen, was arrested earlier in the day.
Addressing a press briefing at the BJP headquarters in the national capital on Thursday, Trivedi said, "After being reported missing and untraceable for close to two months, Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested all of a sudden. However, no charges have been pressed against him for perpetrating atrocities on the women of Sandeshkhali and sending them inappropriate messages. It is evident that he was arrested under pressure from the high court (which cleared his arrest by the ED, CBI or state police) and the spontaneous uprising in Sandeshkhali, much against the wishes of the ruling party."