Prime witness in Sandeshkhali violence cases injured, son, driver killed in road accident
Barasat (PTI): Bholanath Ghosh, one of the prime witnesses in the attack on ED officials in Sandeshkhali and connected CBI cases which implicated now-jailed TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan, was injured when a truck collided with his car in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday, a senior officer said.
Ghosh's younger son, Satyajit (32), and the driver of his car, Sahanur Molla (27), were killed in the accident that took place on the Basanti Highway near the Boyramari petrol pump under the Nazat Police Station limits in Basirhat, he said.
The 16-wheel truck dragged the private vehicle and dumped it into a water body adjacent to the road, the officer said.
While the truck was found on the side of the highway, precariously dangling over the water body, the erring driver fled the spot.
Basirhat Superintendent of Police Hossain Mehedi Rahaman confirmed that injured Ghosh was first taken to a local hospital and later shifted to a private health facility in Kolkata.
Ghosh was subsequently released from the hospital after he was administered primary treatment.
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“I was sitting next to the driver, and my son was seated behind him. The truck came and hit our car at full speed on its right side. I cannot say anything more except this wasn’t an accident. I will know more once I return home and speak to the police,” the survivor told reporters.
The bodies of the deceased were sent to the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for post-mortem examinations, he added.
Ghosh, accompanied by his son, had left his Sandeshkhali residence and was headed for the Basirhat sub-divisional court to appear in connection with one of the many cases that Shahjahan had filed against him. The accident took place around 8.45 am on a stretch of the road which had no CCTV cover.
“We were on our way to the court to appear in a false case of rape, which Shahjahan had filed against us. I think we were being followed from the moment we left our home,” he said.
Local eyewitnesses claimed that the truck, moving in the opposite direction of the car, jumped lane and rammed into the private vehicle at breakneck speed, crushed it and dragged it along until it fell into the adjacent water body.
Ghosh's elder son, Biswajit, claimed that this was a planned attempt to murder his father, and alleged that Shahjahan pulled strings sitting in jail to carry out the crime.
“Our family has been subjected to sustained threats and harassment by Shahjahan and his followers ever since my father began cooperating with the CBI. Two of Shahjahan’s close aides, Trinamool Nazat panchayat samiti chief Sabita Roy and her deputy, Moslem Sheikh, orchestrated this attack upon instructions of their boss,” Biswajit alleged.
Both Roy and Sheikh denied the charges, calling them “baseless”.
“This accident is most unfortunate. I have known the family for long and have remained in touch with them ever since I came to know of it. I welcome a fair probe into the accident and let the truth be revealed,” Roy said.
“The allegation is ridiculous. I know this family very well and we work for the same party. It seems a political conspiracy is being hatched against me by provoking them to make such wild accusations. I am 66 years old and I have never practised violence in politics,” Moslem maintained.
Till reports last received, official police complaints by the victims' family members were yet to be lodged.
Shahjahan was arrested by the West Bengal Police on February 29, 2024 after remaining a fugitive for 55 days following the attack on Enforcement Directorate officials by his supporters when the agency reached his doorstep on January 5 to question the TMC leader regarding the under-probe multi-crore ration scam.
Large-scale allegations of forceful land acquisition and sexual assault on local women against Shahjahan and his followers in Sandeshkhali soon began to surface, leading to a major political dust-up ahead of the general elections that year.
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K’taka HC declines stay on menstrual leave order, says issue of public importance
Bengaluru: The State Government has strongly defended its decision to grant one day of paid menstrual leave every month to women employees, telling the Karnataka High Court that the notification was issued in the larger interest of women and is legally sound. The Court, treating the matter as one of significant public importance, refused to stay the implementation of the order and adjourned the hearing to January 20.
The Labour Department’s November 20, 2025 notification was challenged by the Bangalore Hotels Association, Avirat Defence System, Facile Aerospace Technologies Ltd and Samos Technologies Ltd. Justice Jyoti Mulimani heard the petitions on Wednesday.
At the start of the hearing, the bench asked whether the State had filed its objections. Advocate General K. Shashikiran Shetty informed the Court that objections had been submitted and that copies would be provided to the petitioners.
Defending the notification, the Advocate General said the government had introduced a progressive measure aimed at women’s welfare, one that no other state in India had implemented so far. He told the Court that 72 objections were received and considered before finalising the notification. He argued that the government was empowered to frame such policy under Article 42 of the Constitution and noted that the Supreme Court and the Law Commission had earlier made recommendations in this direction.
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When the Court asked whether the notification applied to all sectors, the Advocate General replied in the affirmative. The bench observed that the matter required detailed hearing because of its wider public impact and decided to take it up in January. The Court added that petitioners may file their responses to the State’s objections before the next hearing.
Petitioners’ counsel B.K. Prashanth requested that the State be restrained from enforcing the order until the case is decided. The Advocate General responded that the government had already begun implementing the notification across all sectors.
Justice Mulimani noted that nothing would change between now and the next hearing and emphasised that the Court would consider all arguments thoroughly before issuing any direction. The bench then adjourned the matter to January 20 and asked petitioners to file any additional applications with copies to the State’s counsel.
