Shiban Khaibri
Was not he empathized for being a victim of political conspiracy and virtually given cleanest chit of innocence by the TMC leadership which now recently following his arrest , by suspending him for six years from the Party has exposed the stand wilfully taken by the ruling party . A classical case of self contradiction but many politicians can even justify the same , why not – terms of ”fascism”, ”dictatorship”, ”murder of democracy”, ”usurping constitutional norms” and the list is long – are lavishly used to silence the voice raised by the ruling party and its leadership. Therefore , politics is often sought to be laced with things antidote to the very healthy politics .It cannot be the case of Sheikh Shah Jahan of Sandeshkhali West Bengal only but probably of hundreds across the country, depicting the still flourishing politics of criminalisation and criminalisation of politics. It is one thing that braving all possible risks, people chose to come out and peacefully protest, and protest for days together in Sandeshkali exercising the right guaranteed by the constitution that the accused mafia Don was finally arrested by the police , quite another where the victims generally choose to remain silent and not only keep on bearing the brunt of getting brutally exploited but willy – nilly , according all encouragement to the criminal which makes him more emboldened . The theme of these lines , this writer first thought to be “Not reel but real” , nevertheless, the choice landed finally on the caption since evading arrest for 55 days by the Sheikh could have not been possible independent of the political patronage and, perhaps, an assurance to his liking . However, since the will and the resolution of the people, especially the exploited and harmed ones, in the instant case, showed no waning or slackening , coupled with a serious view taken by the High Court, the accused was finally arrested.
We often lament that justice is delayed but at the same time, we are confident that justice cannot be denied either and that makes the confidence in our judicial system more deep rooted , no wonder that immediately following the arrest of the labourer turned politician turned criminal, poor and affected women were seen in great jubilation , distributing sweets and beating drums in joy with the hope that their tormentor was finally arrested and the criminal justice system slated fairly and adequately to impart justice, would redeem their respect and that, perhaps, they could live peacefully and honourably. Under our system, it is firmly held that an accused is deemed to be innocent till one was proved guilty . However, in certain cases, courts looking into the intensity and severity of the offence reported to have been committed by an accused provide relief, only on merits . A battery of advocates which approached the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court for his bail the same day he was arrested, was counselled to be prepared for remaining busy for the next 10 years as he was facing as many as 42 cases of serious crime. “As many as 42 cases are pending against him , and for the next 10 years , you will have a wonderful job , you won’t have time to handle any other brief ….., we have got no sympathy for this person” , the Honb’le Chief Justice observed.
On the other hand, the policy and the approach of the state government were such that no delegation, no leaders of any political party etc could visit the affected families of Sandeshkhali, the leader of the opposition in the W.Bengal Assembly who had repeatedly been denied entry, had to approach the High Court which allowed him to visit Sandeshkhali . However, the state government preferred an appeal against the order before the Division Bench which declined even to hear the appeal observing , “We have got better business to do….”was the observation of the same Division Bench.
To be frank and sincere, what prompted to write these lines is the way of his arrest and the manner of the accused brazenly spotting a “V” (victory) while walking with a stiff and conceited gait up to the court room. He had no remorse, not even in the least, instead his haughtiness and stubbornness were indicative of his political clout , influence and money power . He was seen walking with vigour , neck high , with confidence and hasty steps, at first giving an impression as if a VIP was being escorted and under a security cover and definitely not arrested. The Police was looking as if not under their custody taking an accused to the court . He was looking all fresh, spotlessly dressed as if having just left a three star hotel or a state Guest House . Although reportedly there are as many as 42 criminal cases registered against him including that of murder ,kidnapping , sexual assaults, ransom, land grabbing etc , yet he was not handcuffed and was walking as if having nothing got to do with the police persons following him. What is intriguing and rather shocking is the state government not arresting him despite scores of women sharing their spine chilling ordeal of sexual exploitation for days together over months and years , despite Enforcement Directorate personnel having been attacked and assaulted as also their vehicles smashed allegedly by Sheikh’s henchmen at his behest denoting that he was above the law of the land , despite having been involved in food grains scam involving a whooping amount of Rs.100 crore.
It is again a double speak of those political parties who feign much sympathy for the poor but the ration meant exclusively for such groups having been allegedly swindled and sold in black market with Sheikh’s active involvement, they remain silent . Instead ED is projected in very poor light as if ”troubling the innocents ” like Shah Jahan. President of a well known Political Party was asked by a journalist as to how he reacted to the ordeal having allegedly been faced by innocent young women of Sandeshkali, he to the utter bewilderment of the journalist , spoke on legal guarantee on MSP for farmers and that if their INDI alliance came to power , MSP issue would be resolved. No ”political tourism” was witnessed in the instant case just not to earn displeasure of a (reluctant) constituent of INDI alliance . That is the political convenience and hypocrisy in utter camouflage .
It is the other way round too and that is concerning a reckless approach both by the state governments as well as the central governments from time to time in having allowed unhindered swarm of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh into this country , the chief entry point being this side of Bengal . In fact, if it is said that there are various elements in the country actually facilitating and encouraging such illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals and now Rohingyas from Myanmar, it will not be an over statement. Shah Jahan too is reported to have intruded into this side as a daily wage labourer somewhere in 2000- 2001 . He is reported to have been also selling vegetables , fish etc progressing to working in a brick kiln where he indulged in small trade union activities prompting him to be welcome by the CPM which was then in power . After the fall of the Left government , he joined the TMC and made a quick ascent, building fortunes worth hundreds of crores of Rupees , not to speak of owning fleet of cars, 43 Bighas of land and what not. It may be noted that a Bigha in West Bengal means somewhere equivalent to 15000 sq.feet as against 9000 sq.feet only in Punjab.
There is one more important thing to be underlined in that- can an ordinary citizen charged of ravaging the modesty of women, afford not to be arrested? Can an ordinary person suspected of having indulged in money laundering afford to treat the ED with any disdain and not only repeatedly evade facing it for answering questions but arrange public protest against it making it look something having come from some alien land? Can any ordinary citizen amass so much of wealth in just two decades with no definite known sources of income and no accountability? Can any ordinary citizen ever dream of effective political patronage while facing dozens of heinous charges of crime ? Finally , can any ordinary citizen not be handcuffed while being arrested by the Police facing highly serious charges of crime ? Obviously , not and never.
It, therefore, can be well deduced that virtually challenging the law and order system without active political patronage cannot be possible unless one was a blue eyed person for the active and effective political ecosystem . That is verily the tragedy . The solution , again, lies only with the most powerful ,the real deemed power in democratic system – the voters of this country. Lastly , unless proper investigation of the charges against the accused is done by the CBI, there cannot be fuller confidence restored in the victims and any velvet glove treatment by the state administration in respect of the likes of Shah Jahan is a travesty and a violation of the set norms. Let fuller justice be done with the victims and let the West Bengal government give its acquiesce in handing over the case to the CBI to restore confidence in the public in the state administration. Can it happen , sooner than any later?
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