10 arrested by CBI in Sandeshkhali post-poll killings case linked to 2019 violence

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday arrested 10 people in connection with post-poll violence cases linked to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal. Among those arrested was Kader Molla, considered a close aide of suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan from Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district.

According to investigators, the arrests are linked to the murder of three Bharatiya Janata Party workers — Debdas Mondal, Pradip Mondal and Sukanta Mandal — in the Nazat area of Sandeshkhali on June 8, 2019. The killings allegedly took place during clashes between Trinamool Congress and BJP workers over the hoisting of party flags after the Lok Sabha elections.

Investigators alleged that the victims were attacked by Kader Molla and his associates following instructions from Sheikh Shahjahan. Shahjahan is currently in jail after being identified by the CBI as the alleged mastermind behind the attack on Enforcement Directorate officials outside his residence in Sandeshkhali on January 5, 2024.

The initial investigation into the 2019 killings was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department of the West Bengal Police during the previous Trinamool Congress government. Although the CID filed a chargesheet in the matter, the names of 28 accused persons, including Sheikh Shahjahan, were allegedly omitted from the document.

Family members of the victims later approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a CBI investigation and alleged that the CID had deliberately excluded the names of Shahjahan and his associates from the chargesheet. The High Court subsequently ordered a CBI probe into the case. According to agency sources, Kader Molla and the other accused had been absconding since then before being arrested in the latest operation.