2024 Sandeshkhali violence

2024 Sandeshkhali violence
2024 Sandeshkhali violence
	2024 Sandeshkhali violence (West Bengal) 2024 Sandeshkhali violence (India)
Location	Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India
Coordinates	22°21′40″N 88°52′54″E / 22.3611211°N 88.8815470°E
Date	January 5, 2024 ; 09:30 (IST (UTC+05:30))

On 5 January 2024, a team of Enforcement Directorate officers visited the village of Sandeshkhali in West Bengal, India, to interrogate a local Trinamool Congress leader, Sheikh Shahjahan, about his involvement with the corruption scandal of the politician Jyotipriya Mallick. Mallick, a former minister with the Trinamool Congress, pled guilty for embezzling multiple crores from food rationing funds in October 2023, implicating Shahjahan. In January 2024, the ED investigated additional allegations of sexual assault and improper land acquisition against Shahjahan. In the resulting altercation, three ED officers were injured by local supporters of Shahjahan.

Immediately after the incident, Shahjahan fled, remaining a fugitive for 55 days until his apprehension on 29 February. He was suspended by the Trinamool Congress immediately after his arrest.