Birbhum district police in West Bengal on Saturday, 30 May recovered ₹49.75 lakh in unaccounted cash and 503 grams of gold ornaments from the residence of an absconding All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader accused of running an illegal sand mining operation. The raids mark the latest in a string of enforcement actions targeting TMC-linked figures in the district.

What Was Recovered

A Birbhum district police officer confirmed the seizures from the home of the absconding TMC leader, Laban Sheikh. Alongside the cash and gold, police took Shamim Sheikh — identified as Laban's business partner — into custody. A second associate, Sohail Sheikh, remains at large. All police stations across Birbhum district have been placed on high alert as a manhunt continues for both Laban Sheikh and Sohail Sheikh.

Illegal Sand Mining and Contracting Links

According to police, the three accused were not only involved in illegal sand mining — a practice reportedly rampant across Birbhum — but were also engaged in road construction contracting. All three are said to have been close associates of Anubrata Mondal, the former Birbhum district president of the TMC, who was once considered the dominant political authority in the district before his own legal troubles.

Two More TMC Functionaries Arrested Elsewhere in Bengal

The Birbhum action was not the only enforcement development in West Bengal on Saturday. Police in Basirhat Police District, North 24 Parganas, arrested Gopal Das, a TMC councillor from Ward 21 of Basirhat Municipality, on charges of extorting money from residents by promising to secure housing benefits under 'Banglar Bari' — the state government's housing scheme introduced by the Mamata Banerjee administration. Local residents alleged that despite paying cash to Das, many did not receive the promised housing allocations. A protest demonstration had recently been staged outside his residence.

Separately, officers of Baruipur Police District in South 24 Parganas arrested Barun Sarkar, a TMC councillor from Ward 32 of Rajpur-Sonarpur Municipality, early Saturday morning. Sarkar was reportedly caught red-handed stealing fish from a local fishery by area residents, who subsequently handed him over to the police.

Pattern of TMC-Linked Enforcement Actions

The three arrests and the Birbhum seizures on a single day underscore a pattern of enforcement actions involving TMC functionaries across multiple Bengal districts. The Anubrata Mondal connection is particularly significant — Mondal himself has faced serious legal scrutiny in a high-profile cattle-smuggling case, and his former associates are now drawing fresh police attention. Critics argue that the proximity of these figures to district-level political power enabled the alleged crimes to go unchecked for an extended period.

Investigations into all three cases are ongoing, and police have not ruled out further arrests as the manhunt for Laban Sheikh and Sohail Sheikh continues.