Since Thursday, February 8, several areas in Sandeshkhali of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal have been on the boil as locals, mainly women, have hit the streets demanding the arrest of absconding TMC leader and Mamata Banerjee’s close aides Sheikh Shahjahan and two other TMC workers Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar, believed to be close to Shahjahan.
As the protests intensified today (Saturday, February 10) on the third day of the agitation, the local police, working at the behest of TMC supremo and WB CM Mamata Banerjee imposed Section 144 at 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.
Since Thursday, February 8, hundreds of women residents of Sandeshkhali came out on the streets on Thursday with brooms, sticks and farming tools and blocked the roads. They are demanding the arrest of Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar, whom they have accused of making their lives miserable for quite some time, even from before the attack on the ED’s men.
Such scenes from Sandeshkhali never made it to Bengal's Choti Media. I too had no politics ongoing here so never knew of the seriousness either. So many women united with sticks, locals alleged police used to direct them to Shibu Hazra for complaints, another chamcha of Shahjahan pic.twitter.com/DpAdQ74Ll2
— Sudhanidhi Bandyopadhyay (@SudhanidhiB) February 10, 2024
Mamata Banerjee’s close aide, Sheikh Shahjahan is the alleged mastermind behind the attack on ED and CAPF personnel at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on January 5 and has been on the run ever since.
According to reports, the tension mounted on Friday (February 9) after angry villagers, led by women, in and around the Sandeshkhali area of North 24 Parganas attacked the properties of TMC leaders like Sheikh Shahjahan including a poultry farm owned by Sheikh Shahjahan’s close confidant and Trinamool Congress leader Shibu Hazra.
The locals alleged that the poultry farm was set up on a plot of land that the Trinamool Congress leader had forcefully usurped.
They also alleged 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.
‘They violate the women they pick night after night and release her only when they are “satisfied”: Sandeshkhali woman narrates the plight of women under TMC rule
Hindustan Times quoted Archana Naskar, a Sandeshkhali resident saying that Sardar and Hazra usurped hundreds of acres of farmland over the last few years to run their fisheries. “They deprived people of homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and did not give us the money under the MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme),” Naskar alleged.
“Besides, land grabbing, they also forced the villagers to provide free labour in the businesses run by them. The women of the area were unable to step out of their homes after sunset because of the fear of molestation by Shahjahan’s associates,” another woman protester said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Amit Malviya has also shared a video on X wherein a local woman resident of Sandeshkhali in West Bengal is heard recounting the atrocities local women are having to endure at the hands of TMC goons. She laments how Trinamool Congress cadres arrive in groups of 20-30 on bikes and at first, they check out every woman in the area. They pick the youngest and most good-looking woman and take her away with them. They violate her night after night and release her only when they are “satisfied,” she says.
Protests have erupted across Basirhat’s Sandeskhali. Locals are demanding arrest of dreaded monster Shahjahan Sheikh and his men. But what should shake our collective conscience, is the chilling account of how Shahjahan and his men would abduct young, good looking, married women… pic.twitter.com/OdDCvqN2sX
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 9, 2024
The woman goes on to discuss the terror and trepidation Sheikh Shahjahan and his men have unleashed in the neighbourhood, adding that even if the woman they lay their eyes on is married, her husband has no right to her. “He is defenceless. These goons pick up any woman they fancy and no one can do anything,” she laments, providing insight into the appalling conditions faced by women under Mamata Banerjee’s regime.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Shahjahan’s supporters also took to the streets and attacked the locals demanding the arrest of the TMC leader and his aides.
Hindupost shared a short snippet of the local villagers, including women, who were allegedly attacked by Sheikh Shahjahan’s men as they were protesting against the atrocities being perpetrated on them by the members of the ruling dispensation.
Hindu villagers attacked by TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan's goons in #Sandeshkhali, WB.
— HinduPost (@hindupost) February 10, 2024
Dalits are the worst victims of Indian Secularism aka Islamism, but no Bhim Army, BAMCEF, APPSC will ever speak for these people.pic.twitter.com/rg0BHgueSO
The local police, however, instead of acting against the TMC goons, have arrested some local villagers. The locals have, meanwhile, started a sit-in outside the Sandeshkhali police station, stating that it would continue till Shahjahan and his aides were arrested.
Superintendent of Police Hossain Mehedi Rahaman said forces were sent to the area to tackle the situation. A complaint was lodged by the villagers against Shahjahan and his aides on Thursday, and it was being looked into, he added. Searches were on for them, the SP said.
Addressing a press conference, Additional Director-General (Law and Order) Manoj Verma said the situation was under control and urged people not to take the law into their hands. “Probe is underway into all complaints that have been lodged and action will be taken. At the same time, if someone takes up the law into their hands, the law will take its own course. The situation is at present under control,” he said.
Meanwhile, State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar has submitted a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah pleading for his assistance in the case, criticizing the police and the TMC government for allegedly failing to maintain peace and order in the area.
Condemning the lawlessness in West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership Majumdar raised concerns over the plight of locals in Sandeshkhali. He told the media, “The situation in Sandeshkhali is very bad right now, villagers protested against the atrocities like land grabbing… kidnapping girls, that are going on for years…Police couldn’t control the situation so they brought TMC goons and arrested the villagers. The TMC goons also attacked villagers, set their houses on fire and misbehaved with women…I wrote to the Union Home Minister requesting to do something about it, people there are in grave danger”.
#WATCH | West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar says, "The situation in Sandeshkhali is very bad right now, villagers protested against the atrocities like land grabbing… kidnapping girls, that are going on for years…Police couldn't control the situation so they brought TMC… https://t.co/YjDQ10jVM6 pic.twitter.com/55ih5C3cfT
— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2024
Who is Sheikh Shahjahan
It may be recalled that Sheikh Shahjahan is the same TMC leader who went missing after as many as his 200 supporters attacked the Enforcement Directorate officials as well as the armed paramilitary forces accompanying the team when they tried to raid his residence in connection with the ration scam probe.
The incident happened on January 5 and Shahjahan Sheikh was said to be the mastermind behind the attack.
The loyalists circled the officials and demonstrated before assaulting them and forcing them to leave the area. They attacked the officers when they tried to break the lock of the gate, which Shahjahan Sheikh did not open despite multiple calls made by the ED officials.
The attackers not only caused grievous injuries to three ED officials, but they also seized personal things such as mobile phones and wallets, according to the investigation agency. The mob also attacked the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers who were accompanying the ED team.
Popularly referred to as ‘Betaj Badshah’, TMC’s Shahjahan Sheikh is an influential person in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, an area that is adjacent to the Bangladesh border. In June 2019, Shahjahan Sheikh was named as an accused in the FIR filed in connection with the murder of two BJP workers Pradip and Sukanta Mandal, but he had escaped any sort of police action.
Locals said that Sheikh has been involved in various illegal activities since 2006 but he has always surrounded himself with powerful people as a defensive tactic in case he gets charged with any wrongdoing. This is purportedly the reason why he got away in the BJP workers Pradip and Sukanta Mandal’s murder case.
On January 6 BJP leader Amit Malviya took to X to share a video of the brother of the deceased BJP worker Pradip Mandal wherein he narrates how his brother was brutally murdered by TMC goons led by Shahjahan Sheikh. The BJP leader revealed how after the murder, Sheikh, who was the prime accused in the case, easily escaped action by fleeing to Bangladesh.
