TMC Strongman at Large after Land Grabbing, Sexual Assault Charges: Why Sandeshkhali is Simmering

Women in a small village in West Bengal, Sandeshkhali, have alleged atrocities committed against them by a Trinamool Congress strongman and his aides. The indigenous women of West Bengal have alleged sexual assault and that their land was snatched by TMC’s Shajahan Sheikh.

West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose has asked the state government to set up a SIT and conduct a judicial inquiry into the violence, stressing that arrest of the gang leaders and their henchmen.

What is the row?

Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas has been witnessing protests since February 7 led by women over alleged sexual assault and highhandedness by aides of fugitive TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.

Shahjahan has been evading Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons since January 5 when some villagers attacked ED officers during a search operation as part of probe into alleged ration scam.

On January 17, the Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI and the West Bengal Police to trace Shahjahan.

On January 22, the ED petitioned the high court that it wanted the CBI to investigate into the alleged Rs 20,000 crore PDS scam. It arrested TMC leader Jyotipriya Mallick in the case in October. Food grains meant to be distributed under the PDS system were allegedly sold when Mallick was the state food minister between 2011 and 2021.

Shahjahan filed an anticipatory bail plea in a Kolkata court on January 30 after he failed to appear before the ED.

Three cases have been lodged and two villagers have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the arson.

According to a Sandeshkhali resident, Archana Naskar, Sardar and Hazra grabbed hundreds of acres of farmland over the last few years to run their fisheries. “They deprived people of homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and did not give us the money under the MGNREGS [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme],” she said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

Tension erupted on February 13 after BJP leaders visited Sandeshkhali following Calcutta High Court’s quashing of prohibition orders. An agitation in front of Basiharat SP’s office resulted in a scuffle between BJP workers and police. State BJP president Sukanta Majumder was injured after he fell on a car’s bonnet after being allegedly pushed by a woman. Subsequently, section 144 was re-imposed by North 24 Parganas administration at 19 places in Sandeshkhali.

What are the leaders saying?

BJP West Bengal has reacted to TMC Basirhat MP Nusrat Jahan posting a picture of herself with her husband on the Valentine’s Day amid the Sandeshkhali violence. “Priorities matter: In Sandeshkhali, women are protesting for their respect. Meanwhile, the TMC MP of Basirhat is celebrating Valentine’s Day,” the state BJP posted on X on February 14.

Union minister Smriti Irani attacked West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging she is known for “genocide of Hindus”. She will now allow her men to pick young married Hindu women to be raped in the TMC office. Who is this man who has been charged by the women of Sandeshkhali of the mass rape of Bengali Hindu women?”