Hours Before Hearing, Key Sandeshkhali Witness Injured In Crash, Son Killed

A key witness in cases linked to the Sandeshkhali controversy in West Bengal has been seriously injured in a road accident, in which his younger son and the driver of his car were killed.

Bholanath Ghosh, also referred to as Bhola Ghosh, was travelling to court on Wednesday when a truck collided with his vehicle near the Boyramari petrol pump in North 24 Parganas district. 

Police said the truck rammed the car at high speed, dragged it along the road, and pushed it into a nearby water body. The truck came to a halt precariously on the edge of the water. The driver of the truck fled the scene. Ghosh's younger son, Satyajit Ghosh, aged 32, and the car's driver, Sahanur Molla, aged 27, died at the site of the collision. 

Ghosh sustained critical injuries and was initially taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a private facility in Kolkata for further treatment. The bodies of the two dead were sent to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for post-mortem examination.Ghosh was en route to the Basirhat sub-divisional court to appear in connection with one of several cases filed against him by Sheikh Shahjahan, the jailed former Trinamool Congress leader at the centre of the Sandeshkhali allegations.

Ghosh has been described as one of the prime witnesses in the attack on Enforcement Directorate officials in Sandeshkhali in January 2024, as well as related CBI investigations that implicated Shahjahan.

Ghosh's family has alleged that the collision was a deliberate attempt to target him. His elder son, Biswajit, claimed it was a planned effort to murder his father, alleging that Shahjahan orchestrated the incident from jail. Local eyewitnesses reported that the truck was travelling in the opposite direction when it struck the car head-on, crushing it before dragging it into the water body. 

The accident comes against the backdrop of ongoing legal proceedings involving Shahjahan, who remains in custody following his arrest earlier in connection with multiple cases. The Enforcement Directorate's investigation into Shahjahan has detailed allegations of organised crime in Sandeshkhali. Shahjahan and others have been accused of creating an atmosphere of terror through threats of injury, murder, attempt to murder, extortion, and land grabbing, leading to illegal monetary gains.

The ED's prosecution complaint, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act before a special court in Kolkata, outlined how Shahjahan built what the agency described as a criminal empire centred on land grabbing, illegal fish farming and trading, seizing brick fields, cartelisation of contracts, collection of illegal taxes and levies, and commissions on land deals.

According to the probe, Shahjahan used political influence and armed associates to conduct these activities in the Sandeshkhali area of North 24 Parganas.Four individuals have been arrested in the money laundering case: Shahjahan, his brother Sheikh Alamgir, and aides Shib Prasad Hazra and Didar Boksh Molla.

Statements from over 100 witnesses, including local farmers, tribals, fish traders, landowners, and contractors, have been recorded. The ED attached assets worth Rs 27 crore linked to Shahjahan and others, including three SUVs: a Mahindra Thar, a Jeep Compass, and a Mahindra Scorpio.

The agency estimated proceeds of crime at Rs 261.41 crore from these activities, including earnings from fish depots, rents from a market known as Shahjahan market, brick kilns, and government tenders awarded to associates through Shahjahan's influence. The investigation traced Shahjahan's rise, noting that in 2009-2010, when he was associated with the CPM, he allegedly grabbed fisheries covering 60-70 bighas of land and started a business under the name Sk Sabina Fisheries.

He switched to the Trinamool Congress in 2013, becoming sub-pradhan in Agarhati gram panchayat with backing from local leaders, including then Trinamool MP Haji Nurul Islam and minister Jyotipriya Mallick.

The ED chargesheet stated that Shahjahan provided some community assistance, such as free medical services, financial aid, and provisions, while maintaining a group of over 100 associates who intimidated and extorted residents. Those who resisted faced violence and threats, with some carrying illegal firearms. 

Following his arrest in February 2024, the Trinamool Congress suspended him for six years. The money laundering trail, as detailed in the chargesheet, involved harvesting fish on grabbed land and forcing local vendors to route business through Shahjahan's firm. Lands were leased from farmers in the names of associates like Shib Prasad Hazra and others, with payments made from criminal proceeds.