West Bengal CM Accuses BJP of Instigating Sandeshkhali Unrest; TMC Delegation Visits Area

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, accused the BJP of starting the unrest in Sandeshkhali on Sunday. The BJP swiftly retaliated, accusing the TMC and the state government of being involved in crimes against women.

Following a week of demonstrations claiming atrocities against villagers and sexual harassment of women by local Trinamul Congress officials, the situation in Sandeshkhali, North 24 Parganas, is gradually returning to normal. A TMC team, consisting of three ministers, visited the region.


They questioned the conduct of BJP-led governments in states facing similar accusations, but they also promised zero tolerance against any misbehavior.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to speak at a women's rally in Barasat, which is situated in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, on March 7, according to West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar.

Speaking at a public distribution event in Suri, Banerjee emphasized that no lady from the region had submitted a First Information Report (FIR) and that she took the initiative to instruct the police to open a case in Sandeshkhali.

"In Sandeshkhali, there has been an incident. It was intended to occur. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was first dispatched by them (the BJP), and after that, the BJP and some media friends of the ED entered Sandeshkhali and began stirring up trouble, Banerjee said.

This is the second time in the last four days that the chief minister has accused the BJP of stirring up trouble in the area.

Villages in the Sandeshkhali block of the North 24 district have seen demonstrations since the first week of February due to claims that TMC officials have been robbing women of their sexual rights and stealing property.

Eighteen persons have been taken into custody by the police so far in relation to the violent episodes at Sandeshkhali, including Uttam Sardar and Shibaprasad Hazra, the local TMC leader. In addition, sections pertaining to "gangrape" and "attempted murder" have been added against three of the primary defendants, one of whom is currently at large.

A Basirhat court ordered Hazra, who was detained yesterday night, to eight days of police prison.

In order to determine if the accusations were legitimate, Banerjee said she would dispatch her officials to Sandeshkhali to speak with the villagers.

"In Bengal, we respond to acts of torture by individuals. I'm deploying people-listening cops, and if it turns out that someone has stolen anything from them, they will be compensated in full. I swear to you," the prime minister said.

The accusations made by Banerjee were labeled as "baseless" by the BJP.

"In Bengal, law and order has totally collapsed. In actuality, the TMC worked hand in hand with state government representatives—whether they were from the police or the local administration—to conduct crimes against the populace. Sukanta Majumdar, the state president of the BJP, said in New Delhi, "This is the real picture of West Bengal."

The National Commission for Women (NCW) report, which exposed a concerning pattern of carelessness and cooperation by the state administration and law enforcement personnel, was also mentioned by the Bengal BJP.

The planned rally by the Prime Minister, according to Majumdar, is slated to happen on March 7, the day before International Women's Day. It will be held at the North 24-Parganas district headquarters, which is located in Sandeshkhali.

Sensing the growing unhappiness of the people, three ministers from the TMC's team paid Sandeshkhali a visit on Sunday.

In their remarks to the populace, they reaffirmed the party's resolve to uphold "zero tolerance against any wrongdoing." Senior minister Sujit Bose enquired as to the steps taken by the BJP administrations in Manipur and Uttar Pradesh in response to reported crimes committed in both states.

A TMC delegation has been here twice in the last week.

On Monday, a group of NCW members, including its chairman Rekha Sharma, are expected to go to Sandeshkhali.

A PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT investigation into the violence in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali hamlet is set to be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday.

Many women in Sandeshkhali accused Trinamool Congress leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates of forcing them into a "land-grab and sexual assault."

Since a crowd purportedly connected to Shajahan assaulted Enforcement Directorate officers on January 5 who had gone to inspect his property in relation to a ration fraud, Shajahan has been evading capture.

This article was published from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff, with the exception of the title.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.