Women in Sandeshkhali Confront Trinamul Strongman's Brother, Set Guard Rooms Ablaze

On Thursday, the women of Sandeshkhali confronted Sirajuddin Sheikh, the brother of Trinamul leader Shahjahan Sheikh, and his purported goons, driving them out and setting fire to at least two of their guard rooms.

The events transpired subsequent to the reports that Sirajuddin and his men set fire to a villager's home at Kathpole in Sandeshkhali block in North 24-Parganas. The woman had objected to the forcible removal of soil from her property, which was purportedly done to convert it into a pond or bheri for pisciculture.

Women said that politically strong thugs had been stealing farmers' livelihoods and transforming farmlands into bheris at random over the years, altering the local geography. They said that officers had just stood by and watched.

"On the other hand, we demonstrated against a new attempt at land grab today, Thursday," a Kathpole, Sandeshkhali block lady said.

The state administration and Trinamul had claimed that the area was normal, but the recent women's demonstration in Kathpole contradicted their assertions amid the continuous unrest in Sandeshkhali, North 24-Parganas district, since February 7.

According to local reports, emotions broke out on Thursday afternoon when Sirajuddin and his close aide Gaffar, among others, reportedly started removing dirt from young housewife Gita Bar's property in Kathpole.

Gita and her husband, who is physically handicapped, attempted to oppose the guys, but they became enraged and set fire to their home. However, neighborhood ladies hurried to put out the fire and drive the thugs away. Two aala ghars, or guardrooms of bheris, that the ladies said belonged to the goons, were also set on fire.

"Today, Gaffar brought the group to our field, where they started taking dirt without asking permission. Thus, we objected to the dirt removal. Then, Gaffar and his crew threatened to harm us by setting our home on fire. However, they were forced to retreat due to our collective opposition, Gita said.

Several people attested to Sirajuddin's involvement in the incident on Thursday, despite the fact that Gita omitted his name. "When we protested, Sirajuddin was the first to flee on a bike," a lady added.

Shahjahan, Sirajuddin, his brother, and his goons are used to attacking those who accuse them of wrongdoing. They take our properties like this. Never once have the cops bothered to intervene. Police want us to engage with Shahjahan and his associates and support them. Why is Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister, unable to recognize their wrongdoings, I wonder? Gita enquired.

Angry ladies demanded that Sirajuddin and his associates be detained when police arrived at the scene.

Sukumar Mahata, a local Trinamul MLA, declined to comment on the events of Thursday. According to a police source, no complaint had been made against Sirajuddin as of Thursday night.

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