'Didi's Gestapo' in the spotlight after mob attack on ED team

Almost every district in Bengal has its own Shahjahan Sheikhs, who help the TMC win elections.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

The attack on a team of Enforcement Directorate officials and their CRPF escorts on Friday morning in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal has brought into focus a shadowy breed of second-rung leaders who play a crucial role in establishing the hegemony of the Trinamool Congress over large parts of the state. Over the years, the Trinamool Congress has increasingly relied upon these leaders to keep a tight leash on the populace, especially in rural Bengal. They are, in veteran journalist Suman Chattopadhyay’s words, Didi’s Gestapo.

Retired police officials say most of these leaders began their journey as stormtroopers and henchmen of CPM leaders in the last decade of Left rule in West Bengal. With the ascent of Mamata Banerjee in 2011, these leaders crossed over to the Trinamool Congress and soon established themselves as the go-to guys for the senior leaders of the party.

Trinamool Congress insiders say that former party general secretary Mukul Roy and the then rising Mamata confidant Jyotipriya Mallick were instrumental in inducting a large number of such people into the party in North 24-Parganas district which borders Bangladesh and is a hub of illegal activities like cattle and coal smuggling, and illegal infiltration.

Shahjahan Sheikh, also known as Sheikh Shahjahan, whose name has risen to national infamy after his supporters attacked a posse of ED officials and CRPF escorts and journalists on Friday, was one such leader.

Jyotipriya Mallick, former Food Supplies Minister in the Mamata Banerjee cabinet, continues as the State Forest Minister, despite being in ED custody for his alleged involvement in a ration distribution scam which, sleuths claim, may be to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore or more. ED sources say Shahjahan Sheikh was one of the cogs in Jyotipriya Mallick’s scam machine.