Three Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders from Nandigram in West Bengal did not appear at the CBI office on Thursday over the alleged murder of BJP leader Debabrata Maiti in Nandigram in the aftermath of the post-poll violence in West Bengal. The three accused TMC leaders were scheduled to appear at the CBI’s temporary camp at the CPT guesthouse in Haldia at 10 am on Thursday. However, they could not be seen even after the deadline had passed.
According to CBI sources, the three TMC leaders—Abu Taher, Kalicharanpur gram panchayat chief Sheikh Sayyum Kazi and Sheikh Khushnabi, the head of forest and land in Block 1 of Nandigram—were also ordered to appear over mail on Wednesday. However, the TMC leaders did not show up at the CBI camp office on Thursday morning and it was not clear why they could not come. The TMC leaders were also repeatedly called over telephone, but they did not pick up the phone.
Earlier, TMC leader Sheikh Sufian had avoided appearing at the CBI office, citing physical illness. The CBI had earlier arrested 11 TMC leaders, including Sheikh Sufian’s son-in-law, in connection with the alleged murder of Debabrata Maiti. The CBI has filed a charge-sheet in the case. The names in that charge-sheet were of Sheikh Fatenur, Sheikh Mizanur and Sheikh Imdulal Islam. The TMC leader’s son-in-law was arrested soon after the interrogation.
However, TMC leader Abu Taher said, “Several Trinamool leaders from Nandigram have to fallen in the trap of CBI due to conspiracy of Nandigram BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari. I have talked about this with the Chief Minister and Firhad Hakim.”
It is learned that Sheikh Baitul Islam, son-in-law of TMC leader Sufian, is the head of area number two of Nandigram. Investigators say Baitul Islam was involved in the murder of BJP activist Debabrata Maiti. Apart from him, nine more TMC activists were arrested, causing tension in the area. The CBI on Friday filed another charge-sheet in the post-poll violence probe. The charge-sheet was against three people in Maiti’s murder case. Notably, the name of Seikh Sufiyan, the TMC leader and chief agent of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the election, has been virtually erased from the case. This “omission” has not escaped the notice of political circles and many questions have been raised.
The situation became more complicated as Sufian did not show up. According to some sources, the TMC leader has submitted his “illness certificate” to avoid questioning. After the announcement of the recent Assembly election results, the TMC had been accused of killing Debabrata Maiti, a resident of Chillogram in Nandigram and a BJP supporter. Sufian’s name was also involved in the murder. Slain Debabrata Maiti’s family had also lodged a complaint with the human rights commission against the TMC leader.
Nandigram BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari had himself warned at a public meeting that all the “culprits will be found”.
After the investigation was handed over to the CBI, the CBI summoned TMC leader Sheikh Sufian for questioning. Two more TMC leaders, including Sufian, were summoned. After a four-and-a-half-hour marathon interrogation, Sufian himself said he would help the investigators in any way he could. At the same time, he alleged that he had been summoned at the behest of the BJP MLA. The TMC leader even claimed that the slain Debabrata Maiti was a Trinamool Congress supporter.
After investigation, when the charge-sheet was actually submitted, it was seen that Sufian has been dropped from the list of accused and even from the list of suspects. Not only Sufian, but two other TMC leaders who were summoned on the same day as Sufian were also left out. Instead, three new names have come to light—Sheikh Fatenur, Sheikh Mizanur and Sheikh Imdulal Islam. However, their political identity has not come to the fore yet. But, later the picture changed completely. The arrest of the TMC leader’s son-in-law has caused a stir in the area.