Sabina Sheikh, the mother of Tamanna Khatun — 10-year-old victim of the Kaliganj bomb attack — on Wednesday accused police of unleashing a reign of terror on neighbours who had witnessed her daughter’s murder and demanded the arrest of Trinamool Congress activists allegedly involved in the crime.
Sabina alleged that a team from the Kaliganj police station had raided the homes of three neighbouring families in the early hours of Wednesday, assaulted men, women and children, and arrested two individuals. The arrested duo are Id Mohammaed Sheikh and Saddam Hossain.
“Ever since the demand for justice began to grow louder, some police officers have been threatening those who stood by us,” Sabina said.
“They do not dare to raid homes of absconding accused, but are quick to harass those who saw what happened. Now they’re threatening to implicate the eyewitnesses in false cases so that they step back.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Sabina met Krishnanagar superintendent of police, Amarnath K, and lodged a complaint detailing the alleged police atrocities against eyewitnesses. In her written statement, she expressed outrage that while most of the accused named in the FIR remained at large, the police were targeting those who had spoken up.
“Despite my repeated appeals for an independent inquiry and punishment for those who killed my daughter, the police have failed to arrest most of the accused,” Sabina said. “Instead, they are harassing the very people who supported us in our darkest hours by threatening to frame them in false cases.”
She claimed that during the early morning raid, the police had stormed the homes of her neighbours — Zahir Sheikh, Id Mohammad Sheikh and Saddam Hossain — in Molandi village, Nadia district.
“They beat them and their family members mercilessly, including women and children, before making the arrests,” she told reporters. “This is meant to scare those who demanded justice and dared to speak to the media about the culprits.”
She further accused the police of playing a partisan role and shielding those linked to the ruling party. “In such a situation, I once again urge your (SP) intervention and demand an independent probe, arrest culprits, and give them exemplary punishment,” Sabina said.
Senior police officers dismissed the allegations.
“The raids were conducted based on specific complaints. The individuals arrested were wanted in pending cases,” said a police officer.
The CPM described the arrests as politically motivated and retaliatory.
“The timing, the brutality and the selective targeting of those supporting Sabina Sheikh make the police’s motive crystal clear,” said Debasish Acharya, CPM Nadia district secretariat member. “This is nothing but a crackdown ordered by the ruling party,” he added.
Migrant march
Later on Wednesday, Sabina Sheikh and her husband Hossain Sheikh joined a rally organised by the CPM-backed West Bengal Migrant Workers’ Union, demanding justice for Tamanna and protection for migrant worker families.
Hossain said: “Job opportunities in Nadia and across Bengal are declining fast. Villages are emptying as men leave in search of work. This crisis must be addressed immediately.”
Debasish Acharya, who also heads the migrant workers’ wing of CITU in Nadia, expressed concern about the safety of Bengali-speaking workers, especially religious minorities, outside Bengal.
The rally concluded with the submission of a memorandum to Nadia district magistrate S. Arun Prasad. The demands included speedy trial and punishment of Tamanna’s killers, sharing of e-Shram portal data with block-level authorities and creation of a full-fledged Migrant Workers Welfare Board.
