Which Side Does Ansar Belong to? Jahangirpuri Accused in TMC-BJP Slugfest as Police Trace His Origin

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and BJP are now in a war of words over the origin of Ansar Sheikh, prime accused in the clashes that took place during a Hanuman Chalisa procession in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP had submitted evidence to show that Ansar belonged to the other side. But now, the TMC and BJP are doing the same in West Bengal.

BJP’s national IT convener Amit Malviya has said Ansar is one of those who had attacked Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition in West Bengal, in 2021.

Malviya alleged that the fact-finding team of women MPs of TMC, who visited Jahangirpuri, were protecting the rioters.

He said, “The TMC delegation in Jahangirpuri is providing cover to the rioters. Ansar Sheikh, arrested for murderous assault, had also attacked BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in Haldia when he was on his way to collect his election certificate after defeating Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram.”

BJP MLA from Haldia Tapasi Mondal, too, said Ansar has close links with the TMC. “TMC unsocial elements attacked Suvendu Ji. Ansar is one of those men, and this shows that he has a definite association with the TMC,” Mondal told News18.

Meanwhile, a photo of Ansar with Ajijul Rehman, a local TMC councillor, has been doing the rounds on the social media, which has purportedly asserts that Ansar has links with the TMC.

TMC’s Ajijul Rehman, however, denied the allegations of him being connected to Ansar. He accepted that he had met Ansar during his trip to Manali in Himachal Pradesh. “It was a spontaneous photo. I am a public figure; anyone can come and click photos with me that doesn’t mean the person is from the TMC.”

The Delhi BJP had earlier said Ansar is an AAP supporter, who joined the party in 2020, and published a few photographs backing their claim. AAP, however, released a photo of Ansar with a woman who fought on a BJP ticket in a Municipal Corporation of Delhi election. They further asserted that Ansar has links with the BJP, and alleged that the party was not only responsible for the clashes in Delhi but violence and rioting across the country.

According to sources, the crime branch is still looking for the origin of Ansar, who lives in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, but is originally from West Bengal. His relatives’ house is in Kumarpur in East Midnapore in West Bengal, and he often visits there. But that is not his place of birth.

The Delhi Police had arrested Ansar and others on April 17, a day after the violence in Delhi, saying that he was the main conspirator. There are several cases registered against him in the past.

Read all the Latest Politics News here