Four residents of Sarberia-Nazat at Sandeshkhali in North 24-Parganas have alleged that arrested suspended Trinamool strongman Sheikh Shahjahan frequently threatened them by saying they should stop bad-mouthing him or face the music once he was out of jail.

Rabin Kumar Mondal, Nirmal Kumar Mondal, Sanjoy Kumar Mondal and Sajib Kumar Mondal of Sarberia-Nazat in a joint petition lodged with police alleged they received multiple threats over the past three months from Shahjahan, his close aides and even his wife Taslima Biwi. The last call came on March 15.

Their petition lists two mobile numbers from which the alleged threat calls were made.

Rabin alleged Shahjahan, from behind bars, recently spoke to him on his aide Mofizul Mollah’s phone, and threatened to “bomb” his house.

Rabin said the Mondals earned Shahjahan’s wrath after they recently lodged a complaint with the state-appointed committee looking into landgrab cases, stating the plot on which the Sheikh Shahjahan Market stood was theirs and not Shahjahan’s.

“On March 15, Mofizul Mollah approached me and handed his mobile phone to me. He said bhai was on the line and wanted to speak to me. I asked him who was bhai. He said it was Shahjahan,” Rabin told reporters. “Shahjahan introduced himself and said I was flying too high and he would clip my wings because I was spreading canards about his market.”

“Shahjahan and his associates forcibly grabbed our land to set up the Sheikh Shahjahan market. He threatened to bomb our house after stepping out of jail and said thousands of Shahjahan were doing the rounds,” said Rabin.

The Mondals have stopped stepping out of their house, fearing an attack by Shahjahan’s associates. Rabin’s wife Sikha said they were procuring items of daily needs with the help of their neighbours.

“We are living in fear. Shahajahan’s close aides, Mofizul Mollah, Moslem Sheikh and his wife Taslima Biwi have repeatedly warned us not to testify before central agencies with evidence of land grabbing and other atrocities,” said Rabin.

“I have complained to the police. I also met ED officials on Tuesday to inform them about the alleged threats,” he said.

Mollah denied the charges, saying he did not receive any call from Shahjahan and did not speak to Rabin or anyone else concerned with the case.

Shahjahan has been in judicial custody since March 2024 when the ED arrested him.

Basirhat police district officials said a probe had begun based on the complaint.

“It’s too early to comment. We need to verify the allegations first,” said a senior police officer.

Trinamool’s Sandeshkhali MLA Sukumar Mahata told The Telegraph he would not comment as the matter was sub-judice but added his party “does not support unlawful activities or intimidation”.