Violent Protests Erupt in Sandeshkhali as Villagers Demand Justice and Land Rights

For the third day in a row, a sizable number of villagers, primarily tribal people, set fire to at least three chicken farms as well as the home of Trinamul block president and zila parishad member Shibaprasad Hazra in Sandeskhali, North 24-Parganas, in an apparent attempt to vent their resentment towards a few ruling party leaders.

Armed with clubs, bamboos, and kitchen knives, the demonstrating villagers—many of them women—have been demanding the arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan, the head of the Trinamul Congress, and his assistants, Uttam Sardar and Hazra, who they claim are stealing their land and committing other crimes.

Since a group of ED officers were assaulted by Shahjahan's close aides on January 5 when they attempted to search the Trinamul leader's home in relation to the ration distribution fraud, Sandeshkhali has reached a breaking point.

The enormous number of villagers, who have allegedly suffered atrocities at the hands of Shahjahan and his associates, exploded on Wednesday when the local Trinamul attempted to hold a demonstration denouncing the ED raid that took place a month ago with foreign assistance. They pursued the leaders and laborers of Trinamul who leaped into a boat into the river to escape for their life.

On Thursday, the violence continued as hundreds of men and women, the most of whom were from the tribal community, attacked Sardar, a member of the zila parishad, set fire to his chicken farm, and raped several Trinamul laborers before driving them out.

Comparable acts of violence broke out on Friday when angry protestors set fire to Hazra's farmhouse and three poultry farms in "retaliation for his criminality on villagers".

The police, who were usually outnumbered, mostly kept silent as women took the lead in the demonstrations that have swept up Sandeshkhali over the last several days. The villagers also vented their resentment against the police, accusing them of supporting the "Trinamul goons" for a number of years and failing to take any action in response to their grievances.

"For a number of years, criminals like Hazra and Sardar have terrorized us with the help of Shahjahan. We have spent the last several years being financially, emotionally, and physically tormented by them using their political power. They have taken our land, taken our fisheries, beaten our men, made many women feel indelicate, and had our kids march in Trinamul rallies. Participating in the protest for the last three days at Sandeshkhali, Amita Mondal said, "We have lost our patience and decided to fight back for existence."

"Despite the fact that the party has never shielded us from the abuse these leaders inflict on us, we all support Trinamul. These commanders used to shut off our water supply if we disobeyed their orders, forcing us to drink untreated water from ponds and rivers," the woman said.

On Friday, nevertheless, the three leaders' armed aides attempted to retaliate against the demonstrators. At least ten people, including five women, were hurt in the afternoon's retaliatory assault at Jeliakhali in Sandeshkhali. After the incident, top police officers hurried to the scene, only to face protests from the locals, who said the police were "patronising the armed goons of the Trinamul leaders".

Deputy Director of Law and Order Manoj Kumar Verma said that everything was "under control" despite the fact that things are still tense and that the villages pledged to protest again on Saturday.