Four days after Class IV student Tamanna Khatun was killed in a bomb attack allegedly carried out by Trinamool Congress activists in Molandi village of Plassey, police recovered nine crude bombs during a Friday morning raid on the residence of two key accused — Anowar Sheikh and Adar Sheikh — both local Trinamool workers.
The bombs were found in two adjacent double-storeyed buildings, where Trinamool Congress flags fluttered. Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel cordoned off the premises to prevent enraged villagers from entering, as they gathered in large numbers demanding a full search of the houses.
A CID bomb disposal squad recovered the explosives and safely defused them in a nearby bamboo grove.
According to police sources, the bombs were hidden in a sack of sesame at Adar’s house, while others were concealed under a cover near the ground-floor kitchen.
But Tamanna’s mother, Sabina Sheikh, alleged that the actual stockpile was far larger and deliberately suppressed by police under the direction of the TMC. She claimed more explosives are hidden not only in the two houses but also in other nearby properties owned by the Sheikh family. She accused the family of terrorising the village with the help of local goons and an indifferent police force.
Adar and Anowar are brothers of Trinamool’s local booth committee president, Gawal Sheikh. The three are among the 24 named in the FIR filed by Sabina Sheikh following her daughter’s death. While Adar and Anowar have been arrested with three others, Gawal remains at large.
Local sources allege that Gawal, his brothers Adar, Anowar, and Manowar, along with their five sons — a notorious “group of cousins” — have established a reign of terror in Molandi. Living in four adjoining houses with support from over a dozen Trinamool activists, the group is accused of enforcing their rule through bombs and arms, turning the village into a zone cut off from regular administration and law.
All nine members of the Sheikh family — the four brothers and their five sons — have been named in the FIR, but only five have been arrested so far. Victim Tamanna Sheikh’s mother Sabina, who recorded her statement before a judge in Krishnanagar, said the nine recovered bombs are just “the tip of the iceberg”.
“It is shockingly unbelievable that police could not find more bombs, whereas even a child in this village knows where the bombs are kept. Police are desperately trying to save the face of the ruling party and their complacency. This is almost similar to their mysterious failure to arrest all the 24 accused persons named in the FIR. Four days had expired, and the police tried to console me with just five arrests,” Sabina said.
“Molandi will not be sanitised with these mere recoveries of nine bombs and five arrests,” she added.
Sources present during her deposition said Sabina repeatedly broke down in court while describing how her daughter Tamanna was killed before her eyes, despite pleading with the attackers not to hurl the bomb.
According to villagers, during the Kaliganj by-election on June 19, local Congress leaders had repeatedly urged the returning officer to take action against the Sheikh family, who they said were threatening voters with bombs. However, no action was taken at the time.
On Friday, residents demanded a full search of all Sheikh family homes, alleging they had ruled the village through fear and violence. Police, anticipating unrest, deployed large forces and barricaded the area with RAF personnel.
Despite fears of fresh attacks or retaliation, villagers stepped forward to speak out against the Sheikh family, calling for strong police action and justice for Tamanna.
Later in the day, a delegation from the CPM-backed All Bengal Primary Teachers’ Association (ABPTA) met Sabina Sheikh and her husband Hossain soon after they returned from Krishnanagar. ABPTA state general secretary Dhruba Sekhar Mondal said, “We are speechless... We came here to express our pain and to assure the family that we will be with them in their fight for justice for Tamanna. But we lost words watching everything here.”
The ABPTA announced that condolence meetings will be held in all primary schools across the state and that the upcoming Kaliganj block-level talent test will be named in Tamanna’s memory.
ABPTA also organised a protest near Plassey railway station, where a large number of teachers participated. Separately, members of the CPM’s women’s wing AIDWA, led by Kaninika Bose, gheraoed the Meera police outpost, demanding the immediate arrest of all those involved.
The CPM has also called for a protest meeting on Saturday at the Plassey railway ground, where senior party leaders, including Bengal secretary Md Salim, youth leader Minakshi Mukherjee, and Nadia district secretary Meghlal Sheikh are scheduled to address the gathering.
Meanwhile, a BJP delegation led by state president Sukanta Majumdar visited Molandi on Friday and met the grieving family. Expressing solidarity, Majumdar offered legal assistance and said, “Recovery of nine bombs and arrest of five persons show utter reluctance of police and a ploy to protect miscreants.”