Crash or Conspiracy? Sandeshkhali Witness Left Critical After Highway Attack

Bholanath Ghosh, a key witness in the Sandeshkhali attack case, was left critically injured when a speeding truck hit his car in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, killing his younger son and driver and reviving political tensions around the already sensitive case.

Local residents said the truck came from the opposite direction at high speed, rammed into the car, crushed the small vehicle and dragged it for some distance before the mangled car plunged into a nearby water body, leaving the truck hanging precariously at the edge.

Sandeshkhali attack case witness targeted in Basanti Highway crash

Officials stated that the crash occurred on Basanti Highway near the Boyramari petrol pump, within Nazat Police Station limits in Basirhat. Ghosh’s younger son Satyajit and the car’s driver, Sahanur Molla, died on the spot, while the truck driver escaped immediately after the collision and has not been traced.

At the time of the accident, Ghosh and Satyajit were travelling to the Basirhat sub-divisional court. Ghosh was scheduled to appear in one of several legal matters that Shahjahan had reportedly filed against Ghosh, linking the road crash directly with ongoing disputes around the Sandeshkhali attack case.

Sandeshkhali attack case: family allegation of conspiracy and police response

Basirhat SP Hossain Mehedi Rahaman said Ghosh first received treatment at a nearby health facility before being shifted to a private hospital in Kolkata for advanced care. According to the official, the bodies of Satyajit and Sahanur Molla were taken to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata for post-mortem examinations.

Ghosh’s elder son Biswajit alleged that the crash was not accidental. Biswajit claimed that main accused Shahjahan continued to control events from jail and had plotted to eliminate Ghosh. Till the latest reports, family members had not yet lodged formal police complaints about the deaths or alleged conspiracy.

Sandeshkhali attack case background and political fallout

Sandeshkhali has stayed tense since Enforcement Directorate officers were attacked during a search at Trinamool Congress leader Shahjahan Sheikh’s premises in a ration scam investigation. Soon after the raid, ED officers were allegedly assaulted by local villagers and Sheikh’s supporters, who also damaged their phones and seized key documents.

Protests erupted across Sandeshkhali following that attack, with demonstrations driven mainly by women accusing Sheikh and associates of land grabbing, sexual harassment and pressure to give up property. The National Commission for Women visited and later released a strong report alleging long-term abuse and fear in the area, pointing to both police personnel and TMC figures.

The NCW report claimed that women in Sandeshkhali had faced repeated harassment under the influence of Shajahan Sheikh and close aides. Political blame intensified as the BJP and NCW accused Mamata Banerjee’s TMC of complicity. Union Minister Smriti Irani further alleged that Hindu women in Sandeshkhali were being subjected to rape, sharpening national focus on the case.