West Bengal Police Parade Arrested TMC-Linked Strongmen Through Streets Amid Statewide Crime Crackdown

The visuals showed one accused being escorted through residential areas wearing only undergarments, while another local Trinamool Congress ward functionary was seen handcuffed and surrounded by police personnel. In another incident, a former Home Guard was paraded with a rope tied around his waist as security forces escorted him through his locality.

Police officials stated that one of the accused was taken through the streets as part of a crime scene reconstruction process intended to help investigators verify structural evidence, revisit locations connected to earlier incidents, and trace the operations of an alleged local extortion network. India Today Digital contacted four police stations connected to the incidents, but officers in charge declined to provide comments.

The Trinamool Congress condemned the public parading of the accused, calling it a violation of constitutional principles and human rights. Party leaders compared the police action to a public spectacle and warned against the misuse of administrative power.

The incidents come amid a wider statewide crackdown launched under the Suvendu Adhikari-led Bharatiya Janata Party administration in West Bengal against Trinamool Congress leaders and workers accused of involvement in extortion, corruption, and post-election violence linked to the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

For years, allegations of political patronage shielding criminal networks in Bengal had placed police personnel under pressure, with several officers reportedly facing violent attacks from criminal groups without operational freedom to respond aggressively. The new administration appears to have altered that approach through visible enforcement actions.

In North Howrah, teams from Golabari Police Station and Malipanchghara Police Station escorted accused Akash Singh through several neighbourhoods during what officials described as a formal crime scene reconstruction exercise. Singh, widely known as “Don” Akash Singh in northern Howrah, was arrested on May 14 and faces more than 20 criminal cases.

Among the allegations against Singh is a 2021 incident in which he allegedly opened fire on police personnel and hurled explosives in Liluah. During the reconstruction exercise, Singh was seen handcuffed and dressed only in a sleeveless vest and boxer shorts, while his head and face had been completely shaved.

Police sources stated that Singh himself had requested that his hair and beard be shaved because of the severe summer heat. Investigators reportedly used the public walk to verify structural evidence, revisit earlier crime locations, and map the functioning of his alleged extortion network.

According to reports, Singh was considered a close associate of former Howrah legislator Goutam Chowdhury. Nearly two dozen criminal cases had reportedly been registered against him across multiple police stations under the jurisdiction of Howrah City Police, particularly in Golabari and Malipanchghara.

Detective Department officers of Howrah City Police eventually tracked Singh to Kolaghat in East Midnapore and arrested him there. Videos of his public parade were later shared by the official West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party account on X, which described the operation as evidence of a “zero-tolerance” policy against crime under the state’s new political leadership.

Despite repeated attempts by India Today Digital to obtain clarification, officers from both Golabari and Malipanchghara Police Stations declined to provide further details.

In another major operation, a team from Shibpur Police Station, accompanied by central paramilitary personnel, publicly escorted local Trinamool Congress Ward 36 president Shamim Ahmed, also known as “Bade” or “Gabbar,” through the GT Road and Shibpur tram depot areas. Ahmed was seen in videos wearing a white vest while handcuffed and surrounded by police personnel.

Reports described Ahmed as a close associate of Trinamool Congress legislator and former minister Arup Roy. Ahmed was arrested by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch in Chembur on May 21 following a multi-state manhunt.

He has been identified as the primary accused in a May 7 post-election violence case involving a bomb and firearm attack on a Bharatiya Janata Party minority wing procession in Chaurabasti, where three people sustained injuries. After being brought back to West Bengal on transit remand, a Howrah court placed him in eight days of police custody.

According to reports published in Kolkata-based media, Ahmed has also been accused of exploiting political influence to carry out illegal construction activities, extortion, and organised intimidation in the area.

Search operations conducted at Ahmed’s residence reportedly uncovered a five-storey building with luxurious interiors, a concealed staircase, a rooftop gambling facility, and nearly 140 goats allegedly being raised on the roof of a residential structure.

Further south in Howrah district, police personnel from Sankrail Police Station, supported by central paramilitary forces, publicly paraded Sahin Molla, also known as “Sunny,” through the Beltala area with a rope tied around his waist. Videos showed Molla wearing a white vest and white shorts while being escorted by security personnel.

Molla, a former temporary Home Guard, was arrested on May 23 on allegations of extorting local shopkeepers. He had previously been dismissed from his temporary traffic Home Guard position over similar accusations of extortion.

According to reports, local residents alleged that Molla used his political proximity to the Trinamool Congress to establish dominance and influence in the area.

Following a Howrah court order granting police four days of custody, Molla was escorted on foot from Beltala to Sankrail by a joint team of local police and central paramilitary personnel. During the procession, he repeatedly denied the allegations while speaking to onlookers gathered along the route.

Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Kalyan Banerjee strongly criticised the police operations, describing them as violations of constitutional principles and fundamental human rights.

In a statement posted on X, Banerjee said the responsibility of a government was not to conduct public spectacles but to function in accordance with the Constitution and the rule of law. He warned that granting excessive and unchecked authority to police agencies risked encouraging institutional brutality and replacing justice with public humiliation.

Banerjee further stated that although he did not defend or justify criminal acts, even hardened offenders could not legally be paraded publicly with ropes tied around them. He argued that such actions might satisfy public anger and institutional aggression but ultimately represented violations of both law and human dignity.

The controversial public parades form part of a broader statewide law enforcement campaign targeting alleged criminal activity involving Trinamool Congress leaders and workers.

The most senior political figure arrested so far has been former minister Sujit Bose, although his detention was carried out by the Enforcement Directorate rather than state police authorities.

On May 22, police personnel in Durgapur-Faridpur arrested Trinamool Congress labour union leader Sheikh Wasul during a late-night raid in Laudoha on allegations of fraud and terrorising local residents.

Between May 18 and May 20, several Trinamool Congress functionaries and local representatives were arrested across different districts on extortion-related charges.

In Kolkata, Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillor Sudip Polley was arrested on allegations of extortion. As police personnel escorted him to Thakarpukur Police Station on May 24, large crowds gathered and shouted slogans accusing him of theft and corruption.

In Krishnanagar, panchayat functionary Sarajit Biswas was arrested over allegations of extorting money from factories and workers. In Hooghly district, Kamarpukur panchayat head Rajdeep De was arrested from Tarakeswar on similar charges.

The West Bengal administration is simultaneously conducting an extensive enforcement campaign across the state, with police operations increasingly relying on strong visual messaging intended to project authority and deterrence. However, the public humiliation of accused individuals has intensified the debate over legality, constitutional limits, and the balance between aggressive policing and human rights protections in West Bengal.