Even as the search for Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh is now on for a month, his brother Alamgir, in an exclusive interview to News18, said that all allegations against Sheikh are false. He also expressed the possibility that Sheikh may “come back very soon".
Sheikh, the party’s block president for Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, and his associates have been accused of sexual abuse in Sandeshkhali, one of the largest islands in the Sundarbans, along with allegations of murder, abduction and extortion.
Edited excerpts:
There are allegations of extortion and torture against your brother. How do you respond to that?
I am seeing all these claims in the media. This is nothing, but political conspiracy. He is a leader of Sandeshkhali 1 and these incidents [of sexual abuse] are being alleged in Sandeshkhali 2 block. Block 2 is dominated by the CPIM…then how come these claims are being made against my brother? This is nothing but conspiracy ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar were among your brother’s aides. They used to torture people dropping your brother’s name, according to locals…
As a party leader, my brother knows everyone and has good ties, but that does not mean that dada has directed all this. I am saying this again – These allegations are just part of a political conspiracy by the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Dada is a leader of Sandeshkhali 1 and these incidents [of sexual abuse] are being alleged in Sandeshkhali 2 block. Block 2 is dominated by the CPIM…then how come these claims are being made against my brother?… Let one woman claim that Sheikh molested them. This is absolutely false…These allegations are just part of a political conspiracy by the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
There is also an allegation that the police department was hand-in-glove with this strongmen and they never took any complaints…
This is not correct. Even a child can complain at a police station. They are saying all this used to happen and nobody complained for the past 11 years? What was the Opposition doing then? Is this even possible?
Another allegation against your brother and his men is that they use to call women for meetings at night…
At times, if there was big meeting then all party workers were called for ‘Para Baitha’. Let one woman claim that Sheikh molested them. This is absolutely false. He has always stood by women. Sheikh always assured locals that if anybody took bribe for any issue, he would make sure the administration acted against the person. He only said don’t give money to anyone.
Why did your brother’s aides attack Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers?
The day this happened I was not at home. I had gone to the masjid to offer namaz. I don’t know whether dada was home or not when the ED officials came. With the TMC people being raided everywhere, locals were irritated and they reacted. I don’t support the attack. People should not have reacted this way.
Another claim is agricultural land was forcefully converted to fishery? Why was this done?
This is false. This island has faced Aila, Amphan and a lot of cyclones . The river dam has broken several times. With the land being destroyed, farmers wanted to sell. Some of them took the land on lease, but in some areas, people who were involved in fishing could not earn anything. They might have told they will give pay up later…
Where is your brother?
I don’t know. I last spoke to him on January 4. Amid media reports, I thought he had left the country. But now I see that he has applied for anticipatory bail. I believe he is somewhere here and he will come back very soon.
Where is your brother?
I don’t know. I last spoke to him on January 4. Amid media reports, I thought he had left the country. But now I see that he has applied for anticipatory bail. I believe he is somewhere here and he will come back very soon.
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