The orgy of violence in Sandeshkhali village in North 24 Parganas district is far from over. Several video testimonies of villagers (particularly women) have surfaced on social media, detailing the torture and sexual harassment meted out to them by Trinamool Congress goons.
While speaking to TV9 Bangla, residents of Sandeshkhali recounted how TMC goons led by Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar grabbed their land. One woman informed that the Block Development Officer (BDO) and the local police are working hands-in-gloves with the party cadre.
Some residents informed how they had to pay ‘cut money’ to the TMC, failing which they were assaulted by the goons.
Horror of #Sandeshkhali
— Dilip Ghosh (@DilipGhoshBJP) February 6, 2024
TMC rule has created a system has made people of all ranks waiting for corruption. If common people protest, they were beaten with spades. Hear the dire situation from the residents.
Video Courtesy #TV9Bangla pic.twitter.com/FWu7jClLmp
One woman told TV9 Bangla how TMC goons were destroying the lives of young boys and involving them in criminal activities.
“They (TMC goons) are telling young, impressionable children that they need to take part in political activities. The kids are told that if they refrain from politics, then, they will have nothing to eat. They are told that Didi feeds them, ” a woman informed.
She added that the children are given liquor and weapons and asked to destroy houses, harass people and loot properties at the behest of the Trinamool Congress.
"They ask local boys to lift women & girls of their (Shahjahans') choice & boys would have to do it as their life depends on DIDI, she feeds them" — says the raging Matrishakti of Sandeshkhali.
— Debjani Bhattacharyya 🇮🇳 (@DebjaniBhatta20) February 9, 2024
Bare truth. This phenomenon characterises Bengal districts.
Wrote about it in detail pic.twitter.com/owJ5S2Kb1V
According to Republic Bangla, the police accompanied the Trinamool Congress workers and harassed the women protesting against party goons Sheikh Shahjahan, Uttam Sardar and Shibo Prasad Hazra.
“We could not sleep a wink since a large contingent of police came here with bikes and cars. The sound of their approaching footsteps and loud talks terrorised us throughout the night. The men in our families could not stay the night due to their fear,” a woman narrated her ordeal.
Sandeshkhali horror
— ᴅᴇʙᴀᴊɪᴛ ꜱᴀʀᴋᴀʀ🇮🇳 (@debajits3110) February 11, 2024
Just listen to what this Hindu woman is saying. Police and some unidentified people are roaming around Sandeshkhali all night.#Sandeshkhali Section 144 has been issued and internet suspended.Kolkata Police is sending legal notices to those who are posting… pic.twitter.com/IiQLkgna3x
“Police came to our house at 3 am. They abused my husband and tried to molest me. They even broke my Pola (red bangle married Bengali Hindu women wear). The police threw away my daughter. Policemen were so drunk that they were unable to stand,” the wife of a local BJP worker Bhujang Das informed.
"Police came to our house at 3am. They abused my husband and tried to molest me. They even broke my Pola (red bangle married Bengali Hindu women wear). Police threw away my daughter. Policemen were so drunk that they were unable to stand."
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 10, 2024
– Wife of BJP worker Bhujang Das pic.twitter.com/arHC9k7Szr
Other residents of Sandeshkhali recounted the ill-treatment by the local cops. One woman was heard saying, “The police asked me if I sleep with other men? How could they ask me this? I need an answer. What wrong have I committed to be insulted with abuses like mother f*cker?”
“The police abused my husband as a ‘son of a pig.’ He was pulled out of the house. What crime did he commit? We need justice. Can the police personnel abuse someone like this?” she continued.
Mamata Banerjee is using WB Police to quell dissent in Sandeshkhali, Basirhat. BJP workers are being targeted.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 10, 2024
Last night, police barged into homes of people, abused and threatened the women of the house… Listen.
“Do you sleep with other men? Come out of the house, you son of… pic.twitter.com/k49zQV9CMH
“They would forcibly take our husbands, make them work and not pay them salaries. When they asked for money, they were mercilessly beaten and their backs were broken,” the women in Sandeshkhali told the reporters.
In Sandeshkhali Tribal women are protesting against Trinamool Congress's corruption @amitmalviya @BJP4Bengal pic.twitter.com/Itsq8uv2WP
— Gargi Mukherjee (@gargiMu48960835) February 9, 2024
“We did not want to take the law into our own hands. Uttar Sardar has forced us to take sticks. He has exploited us for 4 long years. We are unable to take it anymore. This is why we are protesting here,” one woman told ABP Ananda.
“If we went to meetings, then they would abduct our husbands. This was a peace-loving place but they destroyed it. We want peace in Sandeshkhali,” she added.
Uttam Sardar, a close aide of the notorious TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan, has been suspended from TMC. Earlier, Basirhat SDPO had vouched for him saying there were no allegations against him.
— Locket Chatterjee (@me_locket) February 10, 2024
Why the suspension then? What is the game here?#TMCAtrocity #Sandeshkhali pic.twitter.com/ythNGgF2g7
A resident of Sandeshkhali slammed Mamata Banerjee and asked whether the increase in monthly subsidy (Lokhir Bhandar) from ₹500 to ₹1000 by the government is the ‘compensation’ for being sexually exploited by her party cadres.
“Are we paying a price for retaining our dignity and self-respect? Are they giving us these subsidies so that we can give company to TMC members at night? Is the Chief Minister paying us for entertaining her party workers?” a victim told Republic Bangla.
In Sandeshkhali, Bengal, women are being treated as commodities, with the Lokkhir Bhandar increasing from 500 to 1000 rupees. One victim questions if this fee is for providing 'satisfaction' to TMC goons. This exploitation is outrageous and shameful. #EndTyranny #JusticeForWomen pic.twitter.com/XM8oUtWels
— Locket Chatterjee (@me_locket) February 10, 2024
A resident of Sandeshkhali recounted, “TMC workers would come to the village and pick out the ‘beautiful women.’ These men would hunt for young women and send diktat to their families to hand over the victims to them.”
“You may be the husband but you cannot exercise your right. They would take your wife away for nights at a stretch. They would not release the women from their captivity until they are ‘fully satisfied. They have 20-30 goons with them. They would come in bikes and exercise their writ in the village,” she emphasised.
Another woman said, “I too have the same experience. They would forcibly take the women away to the party (TMC) office at night and free them only in the morning.”
Sandeshkhali, West Bengal. Area of fugitive TMC goon Sheikh Shahjahan whose men had roughed up ED officials.
— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) February 9, 2024
Local women say Shahjahan’s men, the party cadre, abduct any woman they fancy, keep her for days, and return her when they are satisfied.
Massive local uprising against… pic.twitter.com/9oHcyYMysM
“We have been pushed against the wall to the extent that we are now forced to take to the streets. They (TMC goons) have destroyed us physically, mentally and financially. They have even destroyed the concrete road used by villagers,” one victim informed ABP Ananda.
Another woman stated that they are being deprived of clean, drinking water.
Common people of Sandeshkhali, West Bengal are very unhappy and sad about Trinamool Government @amitmalviya @BJP4Bengal pic.twitter.com/Vsibr2TtY3
— Gargi Mukherjee (@gargiMu48960835) February 8, 2024
One woman told Republic Bangla, “They (TMC goons) broke open my window. They pulled my hand and asked me to come out of the house. They told me that they would gang-rape me. All of this happened in the presence of the police.”
“There are other women whose hair and saree have been pulled. We are not safe here (in Sandeshkhali). They have misbehaved with me in front of my husband. We want peace. I feel that it is better to die instead of being humiliated in this manner, ” the victim added.
#Tolamul goons pulled her hand from outside and told her they will gang rape her in presence of #Tolamul Police.
— Tolamul Monitor (@TMCWatch) February 11, 2024
This is the conditions of Sandeshkhali women for years now.
pic.twitter.com/napp1tDwez
“The TMC workers would only call women to their meetings at the party office (and violated them). We had to give in to their demands to save the lives of our husbands,” recounted a victim as she broke down in tears. She added that the TMC goons did not spare her even though she was a party supporter.
মহিলাদের উপর শাহজাহানদের অত্যাচার pic.twitter.com/J2sz0aKI3z
— গর্ত চ্যাটার্জি (Parody) (@KanglaPokho) February 11, 2024
The Background of the Controversy
Hundreds of women residents of Sandeshkhali took to the streets on Thursday (8th February) with brooms, sticks, and farming tools, and blocked the roads. They demanded the immediate arrest of TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.
The women had accused the trio of making their lives miserable for quite some time. The tension intensified on Friday (9th February) after angry villagers, led by women, in and around the Sandeshkhali area of North 24 Parganas, attacked the properties of Sheikh Shahjahan including a poultry farm owned by Shahjahan’s close confidant and Trinamool Congress leader Shibu Hazra.
The locals said that the poultry farm was set up on a plot of land that the Trinamool Congress leader had forcefully usurped. They also said that the poultry farm had developed into a centre for several illicit operations.
Locals also stated several other instances where Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides had forcefully grabbed lands from poor villagers.
On Saturday (10th February), the local police imposed Section 144 in various areas in Sandeshkhali and also banned the use of the internet in 16 panchayats scattered over the two blocks of Sandeshkhali-I and Sandeshkhali-II.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Archana Majumdar has said that TMC members and the local police “jointly raided” the houses of protesting women and BJP workers. Majumdar said that the police even arrested and tortured them.
In a bid to pacify the angry villagers of Sandeshkhali, the TMC leadership suspended Uttam Sardar from the party for six years. The suspended TMC leader and Zilla Parishad member was subsequently arrested in the Sandeshkhali police station area.
The primary accused Sheikh Shahjahan is still on the run from the law enforcement authorities.
