'Pushpa' of Falta paraded in public once again as police seek fresh clues

By The Slate Bureau

Falta (West Bengal), June 15: A reconstruction of the incident involving Jahangir Khan took place once again. On Sunday, the police conducted the reenactment with 'Pushpa' in tow. Even during the reenactment, the 'Pushpa' of Falta was seen with folded hands and holding his ears in a gesture of submission, while local residents watched from the roadside.

Previously, Jahangir Khan—once the terror of Falta—had been seen walking barefoot on the street under police escort, clad in shorts and a T-shirt, with a rope tied around his waist and his hands folded.

The Assembly election in West Bengal was held in two phases. The second phase included voting in Falta, South 24 Parganas. However, following allegations of massive rigging on polling day, the Election Commission annulled the vote and ordered a re-poll in Falta. Yet, just before this re-poll, Trinamool candidate Jahangir Khan withdrew from the contest. Jahangir faced a multitude of allegations. With him absent from the electoral fray this time, residents of Falta expressed relief at being able to vote freely and without fear.

The re-poll in Falta took place on May 21, and the results were declared on May 24. After withdrawing from the contest prior to the re-poll, Jahangir Khan had virtually vanished from the scene. However, his disappearance was short-lived; the former terror of Falta was apprehended by the police while attempting to flee to Nepal across the border.

Notably, for this Assembly election, the Commission had appointed Ajay Pal Sharma—an IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh—with special responsibility for the South 24 Parganas district. He had publicly warned that no form of illegal activity would be tolerated. In a counter-move, mimicking the famous dialogue of Allu Arjun from the South Indian film 'Pushpa:, Jahangir of Falta declared that he would not bow down ('Jhukega nahi').

The situation had, in fact, shifted even before the political changeover in the state. Jahangir had effectively retreated from the electoral arena. Subsequently, many within the Trinamool party itself raised questions as to why the party was not dismissing him. At that time, Ritabrata Banerjee had also publicly leveled numerous allegations against Jahangir.

Jahangir Khan was subsequently apprehended by the police. The police have now taken him to Falta to reconstruct the various misdeeds he had committed there. It was during this process that Jahangir Khan—a Trinamool leader who was once the terror of Falta—was seen before the public with folded hands and holding his ears, effectively in a posture of begging for forgiveness.