TMC leader arrested for rape, attempt to murder

The West Bengal police on Saturday arrested a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shibaprasad Hazra, one of the prime accused in the case of alleged land grab and sexual harassment of women in violence-hit Sandeshkhali village in North 24 Parganas district, officers aware of the matter said.

- 

The development came on a day when a six-member team of the state's child rights' commission visited Sandeshkhali after villagers alleged that a sevenmonth-old toddler was snatched from his mother's lap and thrown away by miscreants.

Hazra was arrested from Nazat in North 24 Parganas district, police said, adding he will be produced before a local court on Sunday.

Hazra's arrest came hours after the police added charges of gangrape and attempt to murder in one of the cases, in which his party colleague Uttam Sardar has also been arrested, based on a statement recorded by one of the survivors under Section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) before a magistrate.

Eighteen people, including Hazra and Sardar, have been arrested so far in connection with various cases registered over complaints of sexual assault, land grabbing and inciting violence in Sandeshkhali.

"We arrested Shibaprasad Hazra late on Saturday evening," a senior IPS officer from Basirhat police district said.

Both Hazra and Sardar, who was arrested on February 12, are close aides of Sheikh Shahjahan, the absconding TMC leader facing a host of allegations, including money laundering, sexual harassment and land grabbing.