DYFI Leader Minakshi Mukherjee Enters Sandeshkhali in Disguise, Police Stop Her

On Saturday, DYFI leader Minakshi Mukherjee eluded law enforcement and surreptitiously entered the volatile areas of Sandeshkhali block in North 24-Parganas while concealing her face with a large scarf.

She conversed with the locals until the cops arrived and stopped her.

Several top officers described the admittance of the CPM's youth wing head as a "intelligence failure" and "sheer negligence" on the part of the surveillance teams, embarrassing the police.

At around 9.30 am on Saturday, Minakshi, draped in saris, arrived at Dhamakhali and crossed the Kalindi river to reach Natunpara with Palash Das, a member of the CPM state committee. She went about meeting locals, including relatives of the detained former CPM MLA Nirapada Sardar, but the police did not recognize her.

Eventually, around 1:30 pm, the police became aware of Minakshi's presence and hurried to halt her in her tracks as she and her three companions continued to converse with the people while traveling from place to place in an e-vehicle.

A good number of local CPM supporters joined her by the time a police force blocked her path, giving the impression that Minakshi was leading a demonstration in Sandeshkhali.

While facing a group of police officers, Minakshi spoke on the phone with The Telegraph and stated: "They have blocked our way on the pretext of Section 144." There are laws for Trinamul leaders and laws for the rest of us. Prohibition orders are not lawful. This is terror funded by the government. We're curious how long they can continue to mistreat us.

Minakshi was alluding to the level of access granted by law enforcement to Trinamul leaders Partha Bhowmik and Sujit Bose during their Saturday visitation to Sandeshkhali.

Her presence, according to the authorities, might spark further unrest in the neighborhood. After an argument with the police, Minakshi was taken to the Dhamakhali jetty.

Prohibition sections are being used by police to stop anyone from assisting the villages. As she was sitting on a dharna in Dhamakhali and criticizing the police for their "illegal actions," Minakshi remarked, "The police claimed that Section 144 had been clamped but failed to produce any documents in support of their claim."

According to CPM officials, Minakshi entered Sandeshkhali with the intention of criticizing the government. Since Minakshi is often seen in salwar-kurtas, party members close to her encouraged her to hide her face and don a sari.

The strategy worked. After arriving at Dhamakhali, Minakshi and a few party associates almost "unnoticed" crossed the Kalindi river to go to Sandeshkhali.

The police did not realize their "mistake" for more than three hours, but by then Minakshi had made a lot of friends.

"The police are harassing innocent people, torturing protestors at night, and making passage easy for Trinamul leaders," Minakshi told the reporters. Why are we unable to reach the location if Partha Bhowmik and Sujit Bose can?"

According to Bhowmik, Minakshi was not stopped from going to Sandeshkhali. He claimed, "I saw her roaming with many of her party colleagues," clarifying that he was a minister and not a Trinamul leader when he visited Sandeshkhali.