Kolkata, 20 May (H.S.) : Police have arrested two women leaders of the All India Trinamool Congress in connection with the 2024 attack on officials of the Enforcement Directorate at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Both leaders are considered close associates of arrested Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.

The arrested leaders have been identified as Sabita Roy, President of the Sandeshkhali-I Panchayat Samiti and Basirhat organisational district president of the Trinamool Congress, and influential party leader Mithu Sardar.

According to police, the two leaders played a key role in the attack on ED officials and Central forces personnel outside Shahjahan’s residence in the Sarberia area of Sandeshkhali on January 5, 2024. Investigators believe the assault, carried out using sticks and sharp weapons, was part of a well-planned conspiracy.

Police sources said the allegations against the arrested leaders are not limited to the ED attack alone. Mithu Sardar is also facing several serious allegations related to post-poll violence in 2021. She has previously been accused of atrocities against opposition workers, vandalising houses, and spreading terror in the area after the declaration of election results.

Local residents alleged that both leaders had been exercising parallel authority in the region for a long time under the protection of Sheikh Shahjahan.

Police said the accused would be produced before the Basirhat court, where investigators would seek police custody for further interrogation. Sources claimed that from the 2021 post-poll violence to the 2024 attack on central agencies, the two women leaders played active roles in multiple incidents.

It may be recalled that on January 5, 2024, a team of the Enforcement Directorate had visited the Agarhati area under Sandeshkhali Block-I in connection with the investigation into the ration distribution scam. The probe centred around Sheikh Shahjahan, then regarded as an influential Trinamool leader and executive officer of the North 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad.

Allegedly, Shahjahan’s supporters attacked the ED team and seriously injured several officials. In February 2024, large-scale protests erupted in the area, with villagers accusing Sheikh Shahjahan and his associates of land grabbing and sexually harassing women.

After remaining absconding for 55 days following the attack on the ED team, Sheikh Shahjahan was arrested on February 29, 2024. The ED had been investigating his alleged role in the ration scam and was on its way to conduct a raid at his residence when the attack took place.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh