TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday asserted that his party is not shielding its absconding leader Shajahan Sheikh, who has been accused of “sexual abuse and land grab” by villagers in West Bengal’s restive Sandeshkhali.

He also claimed that a few outsiders were fomenting trouble and creating disturbances in the region ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

“The TMC is not shielding Shajahan Sheikh... We have a zero-tolerance policy against anyone committing any crime,” Banerjee said in Budge Budge at a programme.

Opposition parties in the state have accused the ruling Trinamul Congress of shielding Sheikh.

The riverine Sandeshkhali area in North 24 Parganas district has been on the boil for more than a month with protests against local TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his supporters over allegations of land grab and sexual abuse of locals.

Sheikh has been absconding since an ED team was attacked by a mob during raids at his residence in Sandeshkhali on January 5.

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