A fact-finding team headed by former Patna High Court Chief Justice L Narasimha Reddy visited several villages on 3rd March in the conflict-ridden Sandeshkhali region to begin a first-hand probe. The team’s first-hand investigation concluded that the area has been prone to serious human rights abuses, reported Republic TV.
“There are major human rights violations in Sandeshkhali. After Shahjahan’s arrest, the police’s behaviour was complimentary towards him. He was seen walking like a king (following his arrest). There must be many like Shahjahan in Bengal,” informed Retired Inspector General Rajpal Singh, a member of the team after the visit.
Another member revealed, “The fact-finding team covered three places in Sandeshkhali and interacted with locals of Majherpara who revealed their grievances. The general complaint was related to Shahjahan’s mafia and his aides Uttam Sardar and others over land grabbing incidents. Money sharks were also snatching money from people. Their contribution was being given to the TMC government.”
One of the members, Bhavna Bajaj talked about the alarming state of affairs in Sandeshkhali. She called the incident “heart-wrenching” and addressed how challenging it was to uncover the truth because of police and government meddling and shielding. She pointed out, “They don’t want the facts to come to light.”
She mentioned, “I met 20 women in the age group of 28-70 years. 70-year-old women were crying standing in the corner worried about their daughters and daughters-in-law. I went to meet one victim alone without any cameraperson to ensure confidentiality of the identity of the victim, she had bruises all over her face. Every night she takes her four-year-old daughter and goes into hiding to protect herself and her daughter from the accused. Her husband has been forced to leave the village.
She added, “Maximum women have named a man called Shibu Hazra. Whenever people visit their party office, they bring in women and keep one woman with them for the entire night for entertainment. They couldn’t use the word rape or sexual harassment but bruises and injury marks on their body spoke louder than them. The women say they cannot approach the police with their complaints because no one listens to them.”
#WATCH | West Bengal: On meeting with the victims of Sandeshkhali, Bhawna Bajaj, a member of the fact-finding committee says, "I met 20 women in the age group of 28-70 years. 70-year-old women were crying standing in the corner worried about their daughters and daughters-in-law.… pic.twitter.com/rvBPrKJFEl
— ANI (@ANI) March 3, 2024
“All I want to say is that we cannot ignore the steps taken by the CM. West Bengal is on state where steps are taken against the wrong. Even when the accusations had not been proven, steps were taken because people were in trouble. They should definitely go for fact-finding but no other fact should be established. There are no fact-finding missions in BJP-ruled states,” claimed TMC leader and West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja reacting on the development.
On 25th February, the fact-finding team attempted to travel to Sandeshkhali but was halted in their tracks by the state police, who attributed their actions to prohibitory orders issued under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Central fact-finding team was granted permission to visit Sandeshkhali on 28th February by Justice Kaushik Chanda’s single-judge bench, following the filing of a suit in the Calcutta High Court. The group was scheduled to visit Majher Para, Natun Para and the Naskar Para Ras Temple in Sandeshkhali on 3rd March as per the committee’s press release.
According to a press release from the committee, the team included senior journalist Sanjeev Nayak, advocate and former registrar of the National Human Rights Commission OP Vyas, advocate and former member of the National Commission for Women Charu Wali Khanna, retired IPS officer Raj Pal Singh and consultant to the NFRC and National Commission for Protection of Child Right (NCPCR) Bhavna Bajaj along with L Narasimha Reddy.
Shahjahan Sheikh, a Trinamool Congress strongman was taken into custody by the West Bengal Police on 28th of February night from the Bamanpukur area at Minakhan in North 24 Parganas. He was sent to 10 days in police custody by a court in connection with an assault on Enforcement Directorate officials on 5th January during the course of a raid. He managed to evade the authorities for fifty-five days after he was accused of sexual assault and land grab by hundreds of women on Sandeshkhali.
On 8th February this year, hundreds of women in Sandeshkhali took to the streets to protest against land grabbing, non-payment of wages and sexual violence committed by Trinamool Congress goon Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar. Popularly referred to as ‘Betaj Badshah‘ Shahjahan Sheikh is an influential person in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali, an area that is adjacent to the Bangladesh border.
The Block Development Officer (BDO) has received more than 700 complaints against him in six days of excesses against villagers in the last six days. He was also the mastermind behind the assault on Enforcement Directorate officials who had reached to execute a raid on his residence as part of an investigation into the ration scam.
Meanwhile, 50 allegations of “sexual abuse and land grab” against the Trinamool leader and his accomplices have been filed by tribal families with the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. A total of 1,250 complaints, 400 of which had to do with land-related matters, were reported to the state government officials.
