Trinamool neta tonsured in Shyampur, arrested

Howrah: A Trinamool neta accused of corruption was shaved bald, made to wear a garland of shoes, and paraded through the village by residents on Sunday morning in Shyampur, Howrah. Police have arrested him.

A dominant Trinamool neta of the Amradaha Gram Panchayat under Shyampur PS, Sannayashi Manna (Sannyasi Manna) has been accused of forcibly taking money meant for 100-day work, collecting illegal cuts under the housing scheme, extortion, grabbing land and fisheries, assault, and molestation—leading to long-simmering anger among locals.

BJP leader Masud Alam Khan said, “From the night the election results came out, Sannyasi had locked his house and fled with his family. Finally, at dawn today, villagers spotted him in Shyampur at a secluded spot, getting off a boat at a fishery he had occupied while hauling fish. People surrounded him, shaved his head, put a shoe garland on him, paraded him through the village, and then handed him over to the police. Based on villagers’ complaints, police arrested him.”

Local sources say Sannyasi had been the supervisor for the 100-day work scheme at Booth No. 1 of the Amradaha Gram Panchayat, and multiple corruption allegations surfaced even then. He allegedly continued one corrupt act after another during Trinamool’s rule. Local residents also reportedly caught him, forced open his house, and carried out extensive vandalism—images of which spread on social media and quickly went viral.

Villagers said because of his close ties with senior functionaries, no one dared speak up at the time and people quietly paid the demanded cuts. With changing times, they pushed back this time. It is reported that amid public fury, Manna claimed he had taken some money from a few people for local development and would return it. After news spread that he had been shaved, made to wear a shoe garland, and paraded with a rope tied around his waist, Shyampur police arrived at the spot. Police first rescued Manna and took him to the hospital, then arrested Sannyasi. A cop said they are questioning him and gathering information about the people who were with him.